It should be easy for Saudi Arabia to make changes to improve their human rights, says Lewis Hamilton.
On the eve of the second Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the country's record on human rights is in the spotlight.
The Mercedes driver said it was mind-blowing to hear about abuses in Saudi Arabia.
It is the responsibility of those in power to make the changes and we are not seeing enough. Hamilton said we need to see more.
According to Reprieve, Saudi Arabia executed 81 men on 12 March, a further 16 since then and108 so far this year.
The regime has been accused of using events such as the grand prix to tarnish its reputation.
When he was in Saudi Arabia last year, Hamilton said he was not comfortable being there.
The seven-time champion said it was not the drivers responsibility to change human rights.
He said that they try and do what they can and that they try to educate themselves and make sure that they are doing something.
There is not much I can say that will make a difference. It is mind-blowing to hear the stories. There is a letter from a 14-year-old on death row that has been sent to me. You don't know what you're doing when you're 14.
We don't decide where we go to race. We are duty bound to try and do what we can while we are here.
He was talking about the case of Abdullah al-Howaiti, who was sentenced to death at the age of 17.
His family wants Hamilton to intervene.
F1 believes it can help drive change by raising awareness of issues it visits.
Drivers voiced their concerns about human rights in Saudi Arabia.
George Russell said it was concerning to see what was going on in some places. If we can look back at the last 30 years and see that the sport has had a positive impact on society in some of the countries, then we should be incredibly proud of that.
We are aware of some of the situations when we come here. We have a chance to have a positive influence if we come here.
40% of F1 staff are females, 600 underprivileged kids are at the track today to be educated and inspired, and McLaren is working with Kaust, the first co-ed university here. We can have a positive impact. We are trying to do more.
A representative of the Saudi government was contacted by the British Broadcasting Corporation.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
