World championship leader Lewis Hamilton has defended the peaceful protests by players from the American National Football League.

Teams across the United States reacted this weekend to President Trump's rant last week about players who took the knee during the national anthem, calling on NFL owners to fire players who protest.

Hamilton, Formula 1's first black driver, posted on Sunday on his Instagram account a picture of Martin Luther King Jr. with the hashtag #takeaknee in support for players and athletes who opt to kneel during the "The Star Spangled Banner".

The Mercedes driver took to Instagram again on Monday, posting a picture of football player Colin Kaepernick who protested racial inequality last year, and encouraging his fans to educate themselves on the current matter.

If you don't know, try to educate yourself so you can understand. #takeaknee A post shared by Lewis Hamilton (@lewishamilton) on Sep 25, 2017 at 3:09am PDT

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