Bahrain’s Critics Push ‘Sports-Washing’ Claim Ahead Of Start Of Formula 1 Season

Six years ago, in April 2016, leading Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton caused a stir when he showed up to the Bahrain Grand Prix wearing traditional Gulf attire, tweeting at the time that he had “nothing but love and respect for this culture, and Bahrain! Felling Royal!”

These days he seems to take a more nuanced view of Bahrain and other countries where the F1 circus descends for a weekend and then leaves. Ahead of last year’s race in Bahrain, Hamilton said “I do not think we should be going to these countries and just ignoring what is happening in those places, arriving, having a great time and then leaving.”

These are not conversations the F1 hierarchy tends to get involved in, at least not in public. But the decision to strip Russia of its grand prix race in the wake of President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February this year has given Gulf activists renewed hope they might be able to use the sport to bring more pressure to bear on their governments.

The 2022 F1 season opens this weekend in Bahrain, followed a week later by a race in Saudi Arabia. Both countries have dire human rights reputations, and it is easy for critics to draw parallels between Russia’s bombardment of Ukraine and the actions of Saudi Arabia in Yemen since 2015.

Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, director of advocacy at the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD), said his organisation is calling for the Bahrain race to be cancelled. “That is what we’re hoping for,” he said outside Formula 1’s headquarters, in a quiet pedestrianized street in London’s West End, where a small protest was held on March 18.

There are supporters for this position around Europe. Some 90 European parliamentarians have written to Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the recently-elected president of motorsport’s world governing body the FIA, to raise concerns that the FIA and F1 are “actively facilitating sportswashing in Gulf countries” and creating a “stark double standard” by condemning the war in Ukraine while ignoring the actions of Gulf countries.

As well as pointing to the Yemen conflict, the letter – signed by MPs from France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and the UK – highlighted the imprisonment and torture of pro-democracy protesters in Bahrain such as Dr Abduljalil AlSingace, Hassan Mushaima and Sheikh Ali Salman.

Lord Scriven, a Liberal Democrat member of the UK’s House of Lords and a signatory to the letter, said “F1 has taken a clear human rights stance and cancelled their contract with Russia. Why, then, have they not applied the same standards to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE? The FIA must put an end to their blood-stained business with Bahrain and its abusive Gulf neighbours, and cancel F1 races there.”

Supporters behind bars

In Bahrain’s Jau prison, where many of the country’s pro-democracy protestors are held, there is admiration for seven-times world champion Hamilton. One prisoner, Ali Alhajee, wrote to the him saying “Your genuine concern about these cases has changed the way prisoners think of this sport … To us, you are our champ, not only the best in driving but also a human being who cares about the suffering of others.”

Hamilton has said he receives letters every year from those who are suffering. “All I can [do] is try my hardest to empathize with those who face these challenges and have these tragic stories to tell,” he said on March 18, according to AP news agency. “I think the weight of change really needs to be put on the governments and those that are in power. That’s why we’ve got to continue to utilize the platforms we have when we arrive in these countries as well, make sure they are holding serious conversations about what’s happening there.”

“There are amazing organizations out there on the ground that are fighting for human rights and I support those,” he added. “But there’s a lot of work to do, the world’s a mess. We saw more displacement of refugees than ever before, not only in Ukraine, but in Syria and Yemen.”