Opinion: Should Formula One race in Saudi Arabia?

Saudi Arabia revealed plans for a new track that is set to host a Formula One Grand Prix in 2023.

The Qiddiya circuit has been designed by former F1 racer and multiple Le Mans winner Alexander Wurz and it would be the third Grand Prix to be held in the Middle East after Bahrain and Abu Dhabi.

As ever, there is the question of human rights and Saudi Arabia’s attempts to “sports-wash” its poor human rights record.

Should F1, or any sport, hold an event in a country which treats its people so badly?

The region has recently hosted Formula E’s 2018-19 and 2019-20 season openers, as well as the Anthony Joshua/Andy Ruiz Jr fight in December, despite protest from Amnesty International who say Saudi Arabia has “an appalling record on LGBT rights, women’s rights, extra-judicial killings, beheadings, the murder of journalist Jamal Kashoggi, and their involvement in the ongoing conflict in Yemen”.

Women were allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia in 2018, with Reema Juffali becoming the first female racing driver from the country the same year, but many women remain in jail for promoting the right to do so. However, the country is trying to present itself as being more liberal and opening itself up as a holiday destination or for business activities.

Essentially, it will all come down to money. The hosting fee is expected to be around $50 million a year, a lucrative deal which F1 would find tough to deny.

F1 already hosts race in countries that have been criticised for their human rights record; Russia, China, Azerbaijan, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain.

Real world politics and sport in general are uneasy bedfellows. In the case of Bahrain, many fans do not like the fact that F1 continue to go there despite the reports of alleged human rights abuses in the last ten years.

The Bahrain Grand Prix was cancelled in 2011 after the Bahraini protests and the 2012 race saw huge controversy in the build-up to the event following the excessive use of force by authorities and torture in detention.

“I have prepared for this race in the same way as for any other. I’ve come here for the sport.” – Felipe Massa, Ahead of the 2012 Bahrain GP

Many of the teams found it difficult to go to Bahrain in 2012 yet the Grand Prix went ahead and F1 has been to Sakhir every year since.

It’s a similar situation now with Saudi Arabia although there are still at least three years until a potential and now likely F1 race in Saudi Arabia.

My view of all this is simple. I am an F1 fan and my main concern is the racing and the circuit. I firmly believe that F1 would never go to a country or hold an event if the drivers and teams were genuinely under a severe threat.

It is common to compare the regions, highlighting its different landscapes and cultures to further us from comparisons – extending as far to dehumanise the Saudi Arabian and Bahraini people, when 99% of us do not know the true situation there. Stimulated by the extreme events highlighted in the media that we are shown.

Without getting too off-topic, my priority is to have a good race track which is unique and create some great racing action, not just for F1 but all motorsport series because I assume that the FIA and Liberty Media have looked into safety and assured that the fans, the marshals, team members, the media and everyone who attends the Grand Prix will not be hurt and will be 100% safe.

Wurz has said that the Qiddiyah circuit will offer some amazing elevation changes which will make use of the stunning landscape. He also assures that it will be a thrilling experience on and off the track.

Should this be put into place, I see no reason why F1 should not go to Saudi Arabia. I love the Bahrain Grand Prix because every year it creates some of the best racing we see in F1 due to the simple track design which sees drivers battling for position over a series of corners and straights.

Conversely, I dislike the Yas Marina circuit or Sochi because the racing is generally poor and the circuit is not as challenging for the drivers and the races tend to be dull. As long as Saudi Arabia is able to build a unique track which offers overtaking and  genuinely challenges the drivers to their limit then why not hold a race in Saudi Arabia?

We watch F1 because of what we see on the track, not off the track. The same can be said about any motorsport category.

Qatar are set to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the backlash football has received from that decision was huge. F1 will not get anywhere near the level of criticism should it announce they race in Saudi Arabia.

Once the football starts though, people only care about their teams and what happens on the pitch. The viewing figures across the globe are not going to decrease because of where the action is taking place, the same will happen with F1.

You are not going to not watch the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix simply because it’s in Saudi Arabia. If the racing is good and F1 puts on a show and the race is entertaining, people will not care where it is so if the circuit can have a similar excitement as to what Baku gives us on an annual basis, I have no problems with it.

The sporting spectacle is more important than the political factors and it’s the entertainment of the sport which most people care about, rather than what is going on in other parts of the country.