CNN reported on Lewis Hamilton’s comments on human rights before the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, in the wake of at least 13 executions in Saudi Arabia in the last two weeks.
“For all the talk of “positive values” and “accelerating change, Formula One has never seriously engaged with human rights and the way the sport is used to whitewash abuses by some of the world’s most repressive regimes,” said Reprieve Joint Executive Director Maya Foa.
“Carrying out these executions on the eve of the Jeddah Grand Prix is a brazen display of impunity by the Saudi authorities, confident that the sport and its commercial partners will stay silent, and that the pageantry of F1 will distract from the bloodshed.
“Drivers are being put in the impossible position of wondering how many more will be executed over the four days of qualifying and racing. The sport’s human rights problem has never been more glaring,” Foa added.