Lewis Hamilton is hopeful that Ralf Schumacher's decision to come out as gay will help 'liberate others to do the same'.
The 49-year-old former F1 driver announced in a social media post earlier this week that he was in a relationship with French business manager, Etienne.
He posted a photo of the pair watching a sunset with their arms around one another along with the caption: “The most beautiful thing in life is when you have the right partner by your side with whom you can share everything.”
In doing so, Schumacher became just the fourth former F1 driver in history to come out as gay and is the most high-profile driver in the sport's history to do so.
Lewis Hamilton supports Ralf Schumacher
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The brother of seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher won six races in his career as well as 27 podium finishes.
Schumacher has received an outpouring of support since his announcement and Hamilton has added to the reaction.
The Mercedes star is delighted that Schumacher now feels comfortable to step forward as gay and is hopeful that others could follow in his footsteps.
“I think clearly he’s not felt comfortable enough to say it in the past,” Hamilton said. "It is definitely not a new thing.
“But I think it just shows that we are in the time and finally can take that step and don’t have to fear.
"Hopefully people will say that. I think so far I’ve heard only positive feedback from people.
“And I think that’s because of the time we’re living in and the changes we are in.
"That's all started from Seb and I standing on the grid here and fighting against what the government was doing here.
"And in Saudi and Qatar, I remember Ralf said it wasn't a good idea to do those things.
"Perhaps today he may have shifted his mind. And even him taking that step sends such a positive message and liberates others to be able to do the same.
"We need more and more people to be free to do that."
A spokesperson for the Schumacher family issued a statement to German media after the announcement.
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Ralf Schumacher put out the announcement earlier this week
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It read: "Ralf and Etienne are overwhelmed by the great response from around the world, nobody could have expected that."
McLaren driver Lando Norris said he was 'very happy' for Schumacher in feeling comfortable enough to come out.
"It's a good thing. From an inclusivity and diversity point of view, F1, McLaren, we have pushed for it a lot over the last three or four years especially, the whole world kind of moved in that direction.
"And whether it's this or talking about mental health, you just want people to live their life and be happy and not feel like they are going to get judged, so I'm very happy for him."
