- New season begins at Sakhir circuit this weekend
- Critics say F1’s presence amounts to sportswashing
Formula One has been urged to carry out an independent inquiry into allegations of human rights abuses associated with the Bahrain Grand Prix. A letter calling for the inquiry, backed by a coalition of 22 human rights groups and unions and 57 British MPs, was sent to F1’s new chief executive, Stefano Domenicali, teams, the FIA and the reigning world champion, Lewis Hamilton, on Wednesday.
F1 is holding the first race of the season at Bahrain’s Sakhir circuit this weekend but the country’s human rights record remains widely criticised. The letter requests the establishment of a “commission of independent experts to investigate the human rights impact of F1’s activities in Bahrain” and cites among others the case of an 11-year-old boy who was arrested for joining protests against the November 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix.
