Formula One chiefs have pledged to donate $US1 million ($A1.5 million) to a new foundation aimed at financing internships and apprenticeships for under-represented groups.

The move follows the launch earlier this week of the #WeRaceAsOne initiative aimed at promoting a pathway for drivers from diverse backgrounds through motorsport from karting to Formula One.

F1 chief executive Chase Carey, who will personally fund the initial donation, said: “We fully recognise that Formula 1 needs to be more inclusive and diverse.

“While we set out our strategy last year to improve the position of our sport, we need, and want, to do more.”

Six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton called out his sport’s initial silence over the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in Minneapolis after a white US police officer knelt on his neck last month.

F1 chiefs have indicated that they will make a statement about equality when the truncated season starts in Austria on July 3.