F1 claims to nurture positive change but clearly puts money before morals

The drivers may be the stars of the show but when considering the fallout from the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix they should have no illusions as to where they stand in the eyes of the people running Formula One. A sport which now declares its moral stance beyond judgment will have no fear of putting pay day before the men delivering the show on track.

There was clear distaste from some in even being in Saudi Arabia, expressed once more by Lewis Hamilton, who was blunt in noting at the end of the weekend that he was: “just looking forward to getting out”. That statement that will sit uncomfortably with the Saudi ambition of selling their state as a destination for the post-oil future.

F1 has done a deal to race in Saudi Arabia for 10 years worth a reported £50m a year and it has the state-owned oil company Aramco as a global partner. Yet while the arguments against grand prix racing in Saudi Arabia came thick and fast over the weekend, when F1’s chief, Stefano Domenicali, was asked if the sport was putting money before morals, he dismissed it.

“No one can judge our morality, to be honest,” he said. “It is a matter of putting in place all the things that have to be considered. Where is the line? That is the question. Our position, and it will always be, is that we believe that what we’re doing will have a very positive impact in all the political situations for the best of our life and at all levels.”

Few drivers, it seems, were feeling any positive impact this year. Hamilton’s stance is unsurprising given Saudi Arabia’s terrible human rights record is well documented but when a missile strike hit just six miles from the circuit on the Friday before the race, F1 faced a rebellion. F1 and the team principals came to a swift