On Sunday (21 November), Hamilton will be competing against Max Verstappen in the country’s first annual Grand Prix. The upcoming race is the first out of a 10-year deal that was revealed at the beginning of September.
The decision to include Qatar within the Formula One calendar has garnered criticism from activists groups like Amnesty International, who have pointed out the country’s “extremely troubling” human rights history.
In a statement, the group urged drivers and their teams to “speak out about human rights in Qatar in the lead-up to the race, doing their bit to break the spell of sport washing and image-management.” At the pre-qualifying press conference, Hamilton opened up about supporting the LGBTQ+ community during the highly