F1 is making its debut at the Losail circuit in Doha with the championship fight between Mercedes’ Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finely poised. However focus in Qatar once more fell on human rights issues. Workers within the state have claimed that reforms to the country’s restrictive kafala labor sponsorship system have been ineffective while human rights groups continue to highlight oppressive male guardianship policies as well as discriminatory laws against women and LGBTQ+ individuals.
Hamilton has repeatedly spoken out on F1’s need to address such problems in the countries it visits and did so again in Qatar.