Former Formula 1 worker reveals racist & homophobic abuse at Aston Martin

Aidan Louw worked as a short-term agency contractor providing services to one of Aston Martin's suppliers. His abusers worked for Aston Martin's suppliers.

Speaking to Sky News, Louw shed light on the abuse he endured during his time with the Silverstone-based outfit.

"Before I even walked into my working environment that's when I was told 'look if you've got a problem with how we speak here, it's just how we speak'," he said.

• FIA plans new aero changes to stop porpoising in 2023
• The impressive record Lewis Hamilton has set in F1 2022
• The weirdest F1 rules that have been violated so far this season
• How Mercedes fixed Lewis Hamilton’s F1 car in just 3.5 hours

Louw claimed that the racist name-calling started immediately.

"It went from brownie to darkie - I wasn't referred to as Aidy…or anything like that. I was called n** n** and brownie - that is what I was referred to.

"It was towards the end of the duration that I had finally processed what was happening.

"It had taken me shift cycle after shift cycle of abuse after abuse, words going from n** n** and brownie to outright n***** when I am being called a n***** that's where I draw the line, that's where I go no."

He also suffered homophobic abuse.

"I disclosed to someone that I had a boyfriend in my teen years and that was it - in that split second everything switched," he explained.

"As soon as they found out about that sliver of information that was it, they were trying to claw me down to break me down as a man, as an individual and a human."

Aston Martin’s response

In response to Louw’s claims, Aston Martin explained that his contract with the team was terminated due to a combination of factors including poor performance and poor timekeeping.

A statement from the team said: "Aston Martin Racing and its supplier operate a zero-tolerance policy with regard to racism, homophobia and all types of discrimination.

"We deal with any allegations of this unacceptable behaviour seriously including thoroughly investigating such claims and sanctioning any individual who falls short of our standards.

"In this case, the complainant was rightly believed, his complaints were immediately acted upon and appropriate sanctions were imposed in line with our zero-tolerance policy.

"We are in ongoing discussions with him."

The team added: "The individuals involved no longer work for Aston Martin F1’s supplier and have no connection whatsoever with Aston Martin F1.

"The whole episode is very sad, but the right actions were taken throughout, as you would expect from a responsible and diligent company such as Aston Martin F1."