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F1 star Charles Leclerc lashes out on Twitter after being accused of racism – saying his ‘words were manipulated’

, F1 star Charles Leclerc lashes out on Twitter after being accused of racism – saying his ‘words were manipulated’

CHARLES LECLERC has lashed out on social media and insists he is not a racist.

The Ferrari driver tweeted his comments following a recent interview where he explained his reasoning for not taking a knee at the start of F1 races.

Leclerc was one of seven racers who failed to take a knee before last weekend’s British GP

Leclerc, along with six other drivers, stood while the remainder of the grid all kneeled last weekend at the British GP.

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When asked why he refused to kneel, Leclerc told Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport it was due to the violence brought forth by Black Lives Matter protests.

Leclerc said: “I’m against racism, I fight it and I’m glad F1 is using its platform to show the world the right way.

“But I didn’t want to [kneel] because there have been many protests all over the world associated with violence, and I don’t accept any form of violence.

“And I don’t like a civil protest to be used by politicians.”

His comments sparked something of a backlash on social media, with many accusing him of being a “racist”.

But in a strongly-worded statement on Twitter, Leclerc has now hit back at the claims.

In a series of tweets, he wrote: “It is very sad to see how some people manipulate my words to make headlines making me sound like a racist.

“I am not racist and I absolutely hate racism. Racism is disgusting.

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“Stop putting me in the same group as these disgusting people that are discriminating [against] others because of their skin colour, religion or gender.

“I’m not part of them and I never will. I’ve always been respectful to everyone and that should be the standard in today’s world.”

, F1 star Charles Leclerc lashes out on Twitter after being accused of racism – saying his ‘words were manipulated’

Charles Leclerc finished third in last weekend’s British GP

When quizzed about his tweets ahead of this weekend’s GP at Silverstone, the 22-year-old said he wanted to post his comments to get his voice heard.

He added: “I just don’t want to be judged anymore.

“As I’ve said many times I’m active on social media and I don’t accept to be called the way I’ve been called in the last few weeks negatively obviously just because of not kneeling.

“I wanted to make a straightforward tweet just to express my feelings and that’s it.”

Meanwhile, Kevin Magnussen has explained why he did not take a knee ahead of the British GP last weekend – when he had done so in the previous three races.

The Haas F1 driver said: “In terms of standing or kneeling, I want to make sure that I’m with the messaging of ending racism.

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“I support that movement, and not any sort of political organisation that I think the Black Lives Matter movement is.

“I want to separate myself from that, and then push on with ending racism and that messaging, which I think is great that Formula One is doing.”

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