Hamilton admits discomfort with F1 in Saudi Arabia and criticizes anti-LGBTQIA+ law

The seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton acknowledged this Thursday (2) that he does not feel comfortable racing in Saudi Arabia. The country will host for the first time a stage of F1, this Sunday (5), in a partnership that has been the target of severe criticism for associating the category with a government accused of violating human rights.

“I can’t pretend that I have more knowledge than someone who grew up in this community and is heavily affected by certain rules and regime. Do I feel comfortable here? I wouldn’t say I do, but it’s not my choice to be here. sport chose that. Whether it’s right or wrong, I believe that while we’re here, it’s important to raise awareness,” said the Mercedes driver.

The decision to hold the test on Saudi soil was also criticized by Amnesty International and the NGO Human Rights Watch, who warned of the risk that promoting the event could divert attention from accusations that the government led by Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud , 85, is targeted, as in the 2018 murder of opposition journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi embassy in Istanbul.

Saudi Arabia is also one of the countries to criminalize homosexuality, in addition to having a series of restrictive laws for women. Until 2018, for example, the country did not allow them to drive. The rule was only overturned after 30 years of claiming the Saudi monarchy.

“Some of the women here are still in prison for many, many years because they drove a car. There are a lot of changes that need to happen and our sport needs to do more,” Hamilton said.

Previously, if a woman defied the ban, she could be sentenced to years in prison, fined and lashed. This is what happened to Saudi activist Loujain al-Hathloul, released from prison in March after spending three years in prison.

The Mercedes driver will wear this weekend a helmet with the colors of the LGBTQIA+ flag, as he did in the last stage, held in Qatar. The model was made by Brazilian Raí Caldato and uses art by Daniel Quasar, a non-binary artist who emphasizes the representation of trans and black people.

“You saw the helmet I wore in the last race. I’ll wear it again here, and in the next race [em Abu Dhabi], because this is a problem. There are changes that need to be made. We have a duty to help raise awareness of human rights issues in the countries we go to,” said the Briton.

He also criticized the homophobic laws in force in Saudi Arabia. “If anyone wants to read what the law is for the LGBTQIA+ community, it’s very scary. There are changes that need to be made.”

The competition on Saudi soil was a decision taken by Liberty Media, the American group that controls the category, and is part of a sponsorship agreement signed with Saudi Aramco, the Saudi state-owned oil and natural gas giant, in March 2020.

It was the first global sponsorship agreement signed by Liberty since 2017, the year the group bought the championship, then under the reins of Englishman Bernie Ecclestone. According to the website SportBusiness.com, F1 will receive from Saudi Aramco around US$ 40 million (R$ 224 million) per season.

Criticism for associating the category with countries with a history of human rights violations, however, are not exclusive to the American company. There are several controversial passages in F1 history, such as the fact that the Worlds was the last sporting event to leave South Africa because of the apartheid, racially segregated regime.

In 1985, in one of the most critical periods of the regime, in which then-president Willem Botha chased opponents with his troops and blacks were abused, tortured and killed, F1 landed in the country. Apartheid would only come to an end in 1994.

Despite the boycott of two French teams, Ligier and Renault, the other teams on the grid participated in the race, the last registered in South Africa, and which generated a wave of criticism for the category as it is now, when it arrived in Saudi Arabia.