| In the week that Sir Frank Williams so sadly passed away, Formula 1 makes its debut in a country that sponsored many of the great man’s earliest successes in the sport: Saudi Arabia. It’s a coincidence which highlights the fact that this government state using sport to promote its interests abroad is nothing new. Over 40 years on from the Albilad-Saudia Racing Team (as Williams’s team was first entered F1 in 1979) the current Saudi regime’s culture and human rights record is firmly in the spotlight and cannot (and should not) be ignored. The sport’s most successful driver Lewis Hamilton is right to lead the way on flagging this up, saying today that F1 is “duty bound to help raise awareness for certain issues that see with human rights in these countries we are going to”. Both Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel are highlighting the LGBTQ+ community in this Middle Eastern leg that ends the 2021 championship, and Lewis added: “If anyone wants to take time to read what the law is [here] for the LGBT+ community, it is pretty terrifying. There are changes that need to be made.” With such high-profile issues off the track, and a super-fast circuit that’s been constructed in record time, this weekend will certainly have the eyes of the world upon it. By: Charles Bradley, Global Editor in Chief
Motorsport.com | 
