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Lewis Hamilton with rainbow helmet training in Qatar
Photo:
ANDREJ ISAKOVIC / AFP
Anyone who has followed the various information channels of Formula 1 in the past few days could come to the conclusion that it would be a completely normal racing weekend.
There were five reasons to read why the fans should be "excited" before the first Grand Prix of Qatar in the history of Formula 1.
There were spectacular night shots of the Losail International Circuit, during the day the pilots strolled under palm trees.
One could argue that one of the tasks of such channels is to stage one's own sport in the best possible way and not to talk about human rights.
Formula 1 is also heading for one of the most exciting end-of-season phases in its history, with Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) only separating 14 championship points.
Both rivals, and almost even more so both racing teams with their alternating objections, ensure the best entertainment.
So why not pretend everything is wonderful?
Formula 1 is going to Qatar for the first time - eleven years after the controversial award of the 2022 World Cup, with the knowledge of human rights violations that has been widespread in the sports world for years.
This decision was only made a few weeks ago, this is the only way for the financially troubled racing series to get a lucrative 22 races of the season.
In addition, a ten-year contract was signed with Qatar starting in 2023, and Formula 1 will be a permanent guest on the Arabian Peninsula.
The first race in Saudi Arabia will follow in two weeks, the season finale will take place in the United Arab Emirates, and at the beginning of the season there was already a race in Bahrain.
Also on the calendar is the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in the country of the autocrat Ilham Aliyev.
Formula 1 joins major sporting events
Stefano Domencali is CEO of Formula 1. The former Ferrari team boss is responsible for the tightly staggered racing calendar that pushes the teams and their employees to their limits.
In the past three weeks I went from Mexico to Brazil and on to Qatar.
In addition to the attractive races, there were massive time differences, hardly any time for assembly and dismantling, and no relaxation.
That's the page.
When it comes to human rights, Domenicali takes a position that is well known from football: "Such an important change cannot happen overnight," said the 56-year-old Italian this week on the BBC.
“It's a cultural change that takes time.
But the timing is accelerated by the fact that there are big events going on.
And Formula 1 will play an important role in this regard. "
In the past, many international competitions have taken place in Qatar, in swimming, tennis, athletics, handball, and next year the highlight will be the World Cup.
Countries like Qatar or Saudi Arabia use such events to present themselves glamorously and to distract from irregularities.
So-called sportswashing has become almost everyday - and Formula 1 is now at the forefront with the ten-year contract.
"I don't think it will improve the situation if you seal off the countries and say that you don't want to do anything there," said Domenicali.
“It will do the opposite.
That doesn't mean that everything is perfect.
But what we're doing is definitely going in the right direction. "
Up to 50 million euros for a race
The human rights organization Amnesty International reported this week that the direction in Qatar is no longer the right one.
Reforms in labor law are said to be inadequately implemented, and the abuse and exploitation of guest workers has recently increased again after years of progress.
When the red light turns green at 3 p.m. on Sunday, it will be exactly one more symbolic year until the opening game of the World Cup.
What Domenicali doesn't like to talk about so much are the real motivations for the now quadruple trip to the Midwest.
The entry fee of the organizers in Qatar or Saudi Arabia is significantly higher than is the case on the racetracks in Europe. Nobody wants to name the official figures, but up to 50 million euros should flow for a race. For the Hockenheimring in Germany that would be a utopian number, the operator has to finance the fee primarily with viewer income.
Formula 1 has had a difficult year 2020.
Due to the corona pandemic, it was not possible to drive at all for a long time, at the end of the day there were 17 races without spectators from July to December.
The US owners of Liberty Media then announced a loss of the equivalent of 317 million euros.
Anyone who wants to compensate for this does not take the human rights situation very seriously, as the extensive commitment of the main sponsor Aramco - a Saudi Arabian oil company - shows.
Of vacation and freedom of expression
Anyone who hoped that the drivers or team bosses would use their reach for criticism, as Amnesty had also called for, has so far been mistaken.
"I like to drive in the Middle East," said Fernando Alonso, deputy veteran.
"I don't have a problem with any of the countries, I've lived in Dubai for a long time." Close your eyes and get on with it.
Günther Steiner, Mick Schumacher's boss at the Haas racing team, even said: “The Middle East is a good place for races.
These countries are up and coming and put a lot of effort into hosting these events.
In addition, it is still warm when it gets cold in Europe.
If people are planning a vacation, it's a good place to go. "
Vettel holds back
Qatar's motorsport president, Abdulrahman Al Mannai, stressed the right to freedom of expression for all those involved in Formula 1 weeks ago.
But so far it has hardly been used by the drivers.
In the past few months, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel had mostly taken on the roles of the socio-political conscience of Formula 1 when it came to Black Lives Matter, diversity, LGBTQ + rights or climate policy.
But in the run-up to the race in Qatar, the two world champions remained unusually quiet.
Hamilton spoke of "difficult" subjects and said it was not his decision where to go.
During free practice, he wore a helmet in a rainbow design with the words "We stand together".
Vettel made an uncertain impression at the press conference, as if he had been made aware of the importance of harmless words in advance.
Just recently he had said in the New York Times that the large amount of money that Formula 1 makes in countries like Qatar is "not particularly pure."
At the racetrack, however, Vettel sounded like this: “We love driving cars and we do it all over the world.
We agree more with some of the cultures in which we compete, perhaps less with others. "
