Television images showed six drivers standing behind the 14 who knelt, including Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
Formula One managing director Ross Brawn this week outlined plans for going back to racing, with health checks and isolation in the paddock, and believed the sport could provide a safe environment.
But, even as Max Verstappen celebrated and Lewis Hamilton came to terms with defeat, the Briton's Mercedes team lodged two safety-car related protests.
In fact, NASCAR will just about be the only show in town, with the NBA and NHL, which would in the thick of the playoffs at this point of the season, and MLB all on the sidelines muddling through various return to play scenarios.
No woman has competed in Formula One since 1976 but organisers of the 'W Series' hope to provide a platform for them to develop skills before taking on the men further up the motorsport ladder. The idea of an all-female series is not new but has been controversial in the past, with top women racers adamant they want to compete against the men rather than be separated.
The two teams said they had been reassured by Formula One's approach under chairman Chase Carey and his new management team, who had "brought a new culture of transparency to the sport".
'The time for platitudes and token gestures is over'
I am with my dream team, says Mercedes driver
The double world champion failed to score a point in his final race for McLaren, finishing tantalisingly close in 11th place after making up four positions, but the Spaniard went out fighting to the last.
The delayed season is due to start in Austria on July 5 behind closed doors.
Lewis Hamilton has actively supported the Black Lives Matter movement, calling out his own sport's initial silence over the killing of Floyd, who died after a white US police officer knelt on his neck last month.
Silverstone managing director, Stuart Pringle made clear that everything had to be done so as not to put stress on policing or divert medical resources away from the fight against the coronavirus.
Germany's Nico Hulkenberg will replace Racing Point driver Sergio Perez at this weekend's British Formula One Grand Prix after the Mexican was ruled out by a positive COVID-19 test result. Hulkenberg, a veteran of 177 Grands Prix, raced for the team when they were known as Force India. He competed for Renault last season.
New York-born Ugo Ugochukwu won last year's European FIA OKJ European kart championship after taking a string of titles in the United States.
McLaren's Australian Daniel Ricciardo will join the Dutch 23-year-old on the front row for the first time since the pair were team mates at Red Bull in 2018.
Formula One is changing its scoring system to award a point to the driver who sets the fastest race lap, starting from this weekend's season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
Valtteri Bottas announced split from wife Emilia, an Olympic swimmer
Lewis Hamilton was pictured at an event earlier this month in London with actor Idris Elba, who was subsequently diagnosed with the coronavirus. However, in a statement released on Saturday Hamilton revealed that he is still 'feeling healthy'.
Amazon has exclusive TV broadcast rights in France for the night sessions, which are taking place for the first time at Roland Garros. The late matches are being played without fans on Court Philippe-Chatrier because of the 9 p.m. curfew.
The Briton, who started his career working for the Hesketh team in 1977, died in Melbourne of a pulmonary embolism, it said.
Sunday will be the first time that Austria has hosted a season-opener and the race will also be the latest start date to a championship.
Ferrari could lead other Formula One teams into an alternative championship if the sport becomes too much like the US-based NASCAR series.
Max Verstappen will have his first shot at clinching the Formula One title in Saudi Arabia in two weeks' time but Red Bull's championship leader could also see his advantage disappear entirely.
The South-East Asian country is a growing market for sponsors such as brewer Heineken and will give the region four races on the calendar again after the departure of Malaysia last year.
Stirling Moss, the British racing driver who ranked as one of the all-time Formula One greats despite never winning the world championship, died on Sunday at the age of 90 after a long illness. News of his passing was mourned across the world of motorsport, with Formula One hailing a 'legend' and 'one of the true greats'.
Four-time Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel will race for Aston Martin, the new name for the Canadian-owned Racing Point team, on a multi-year deal after leaving Ferrari at the end of the season.
Dutch driver Max Verstappen has extended his contract with Red Bull until the end of 2023, the Formula One team announced in a statement on Tuesday. The Dutchman, who in 2016 became the youngest ever race winner in the sport's history, had been linked to both Ferrari and Mercedes in paddock speculation.
An ardent fan of F1 driver, Max Verstappen, Yuvraj keenly follows the Scuderia Ferrari Formula1 team.
Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne said while he supported cost-cutting, there are other strategic issues under discussion that could force Ferrari to consider racing elsewhere.
Lewis Hamilton managed to make the most of the adverse conditions to take pole position for Sunday's race.
Charles Leclerc put Ferrari on pole position for their home Italian Formula One Grand Prix on Saturday in a qualifying session that ended in farce and with drivers under investigation.
Hamilton already has plenty of records, including 87 pole positions and 33 successive scoring finishes, and his 83 wins put him on course to surpass Schumacher's record tally of 91 next year.
Photographs of the skywriting were widely shared online but it was unclear who was responsible for them. But the Australian Grand Prix authorities were adamant that Albert Park would welcome thousands of motor sport fans from Thursday when practice sessions and qualifying commence for lower-profile touring car series.
Valtteri Bottas won a dramatic first race of the delayed Formula One season for champions Mercedes in Austria on Sunday
Sport and society remain stuck in the 'stone age' when it comes to women's rights, Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton said on Thursday.
Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton took pole position at the Spanish Grand Prix on Saturday in a Mercedes one-two that ended Sebastian Vettel's bid for a fourth in a row.
'We must work towards a society that doesn't require Black players to prove their value or place in society only through victory. Ultimately everyone on the England team should be so proud of their achievement and how they represented us.'
The sky's the limit for George Russell after the British youngster's stellar performance
Perez, who vaulted to fourth in the overall standings after Sunday's race, is the first Mexican driver to win a race since Pedro Rodriguez took victory in the 1970 Belgian Grand Prix.
