Hamilton told to boycott F1 as Corbyn signs open letter to FIA boss

Lewis Hamilton on difficult season for Mercedes in November

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Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton has been told by Lord Scriven, vice chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Democracy and Human Rights in the Gulf, that he would be ‘correct’ to boycott Grands Prix unless F1 chiefs put in a new framework to clear up the sport’s human rights image.

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is among a group of eight members of parliament to have signed an open letter to F1 boss Stefano Domenicali and FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem on the issue this week. 

The sport’s governing bodies stand accused of ‘sportswashing’ with the season due to get underway in Bahrain this weekend, two weeks before a trip to Saudi Arabia. Both countries have faced criticism for their poor human rights record and Hamilton has previously been vocal in calling for the sport to address the problem. 

“Lewis and others would be correct to say that unless F1 and the FIA put in place a framework which is in line with the United Nations’ guiding principle on business and human rights, that he and other drivers would feel uncomfortable about racing,” claimed Lord Scriven on Tuesday. “And unless that framework is put in place they would seek not to race.

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“They could increase pressure, both in terms of highlighting the topic, but also getting the dinosaurs of managers and administrators of their sport to actually put in place the correct framework so there is a systematic legal approach to how F1 and the FIA decide where to race.”

The open letter sent by MPs accuses F1’s governing bodies of refusing to engage with human rights groups, while calling on them to use their platform in a bid to free political prisoners in Bahrain. 

“Human rights and F1 can go side-by-side, and it is a pity that the present leadership of the F1 and FIA seem to think that money, profit and their own self importance is far more important than giving dignity and basic human rights to people in the country with which they make profit from,” added Lord Scriven. 

This time last year, Hamilton was asked about a 12-year-old from Bahrain who had sent him a drawing in the hope that the seven-time world champion could bring attention to his father, who was sitting on death row in the country. 

Hamilton acknowledged that he ‘cannot fix the issues alone’, adding: “I haven’t seen the drawing but each year I receive letters from those that are suffering and all I can do is try my hardest to empathise with those who face these challenges and have these tragic stories to tell.

“We come to these beautiful places and there are challenges everywhere. No country is perfect, but we can all do more. I am just trying to do as much as I can in the time I have. I can’t do everything and I can’t do it alone. I need allies.”

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