Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes team have sacked four of their staff members and disciplined three more for racist bullying. The team launched an inquiry into racism at their Northamptonshire headquarters in July and concluded that the four men had breached their equality policy. They were dismissed on 2 August and their final appeal was held last week.

The Sun newspaper reported on Saturday that the abuse at the Brackley site included a member of staff allegedly being referred to as a “Muslim terrorist fuck”. During Ramadan the sacked workers, believed to be from the IT department, were reported as putting up a poll on which they signed and dated guesses of when their co-worker would break his fast.

A source told the paper: “This was a really horrible case of racist bullying. They had been picking on one Muslim guy for years. It all came to light when they pinned up the poll. The guys who were sacked had all signed and dated it. It’s outrageous, especially with Lewis being so outspoken about racism.”

Hamilton, who is in action at the Russian Grand Prix this weekend and is still the only black driver in Formula One, has long been a vocal opponent of racism and called for greater diversity in the sport.

After racist taunts aimed at England footballers in Montenegro in March, the world champion unequivocally condemned it before the Bahrain Grand Prix. “It is crazy to think that at this time in the world, racism is still such a prominent thing,” he said. “It is really there, all around the world, and a real issue, which is sad to see. It doesn’t seem like it is going to migrate much over the next few years.”

His team confirmed in a statement that the sackings had taken place. “Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd confirms that four individuals were dismissed from the company on 2 August 2019,” it read. “These dismissals followed an internal investigation that confirmed breaches of our diversity and equality policy. We condemn this behaviour in the strongest terms and acted immediately upon the complaint. We value the diversity of our employees and it is a source of strength for our team. Our working environment is based on appreciation and mutual respect.”

Three other members of staff are reported as being disciplined for breaching the team’s diversity and equality policy.