“We Race As One” - Why F1’s social justice initiative is merely a marketing ploy
Ryan Brolly
The world of sport has changed rapidly over the years. This has been impacted by the wider need across the world for movements that promote greater social justice. It has become essential to see representation and drive toward helping society become a better, more tolerant place toward groups that have faced discrimination and violence, and sport plays a crucial role in doing this.
One such example of a sport organisation teaming up with a charity to raise awareness of the issue of homophobia is the Premier League. They work with Stonewall, an LGBTQ+ rights charity, to promote the ‘Rainbow Laces’ campaign. In this yearly campaign there is a dedicated game week in the league calendar featuring wide visibility of symbols of inclusion across stadiums, rainbow laces worn on players’ boots and captain’s armbands in the style of the LGBTQ+ pride flag.
A further initiative from the world of football is UEFA’s ‘Say No to Racism’ campaign, which is aimed at tackling the scourge of racism in football. Although there is still a long way to go, these campaigns have succeeded in raising awareness at least for the issues at hand.
In Formula One there is a similar campaign known as ‘We Race As One’. This campaign aims to “tackle the biggest issues facing the sport and global communities and condemn racism and inequality”.
However, this campaign is controversial and contradictory within the context of the sport. The key problem with the campaign is the fact that in various locations of Formula One races, the values of the country are at odds with those at the heart of the campaign.
This season’s curtain raiser took place in Bahrain, which while legalising homosexuality in 1976, has still been seen to crack down on LGBTQ+ individuals for violating immorality laws. In a wider point, Human Rights Watch have referred to the state of Human Rights in Bahrain as “dismal”.
The ‘We Race As One’ campaign was introduced in 2021.
The second race of the season takes place in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The KSA has been engaged in a campaign of sportswashing, a tactic in which a nation will use sport to improve their global image.
First, they entered the world of professional wrestling with the WWE, holding various extravagant events throughout the year. They then moved on to hosting marquee boxing fights and, mostly notably of all, they acquired Newcastle United to their sportswashing portfolio last year.
Formula One is one of their newest ventures, as they joined the calendar in 2021. Democracy groups have criticised the state for being a totalitarian regime where open dissent is not tolerated.
Alongside this, women still face discrimination within the country and homosexuality is still a crime that can be punished with the use of the death penalty.
Additionally, there is Qatar, who also joined the F1 calendar in 2022. They are another country widely reported for their human rights abuses, particularly around the FIFA World Cup. They are also using F1 as a vessel for sportswashing.
Similarly, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are also engaged in sportswashing, paying an obscene amount of money to the FIA to have the right to host the final race of the year at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. It is another country where homosexuality is illegal.
The F1 calendar in 2023 would have another race in a country where homosexuality was illegal had it not been decriminalised in Singapore during 2022. The races taking place in countries which make it virtually impossible to be inclusive to all, makes a mockery of the ‘We Race As One’ message.
Formula One drivers have attempted to use their platform to raise awareness and speak out against these regimes and their treatment of marginalised groups. Four-time world champion Sebastien Vettel wore a shirt outlining his support for the LGBTQ+ community during the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend in 2022, as the right-wing regime in the country is attempting to crack down on LGBTQ+ rights.
Instead of showing support for their driver, the FIA, the governing body of F1, reprimanded the German. Seven-time World Champion and undoubtedly the most notable star in the sport Lewis Hamilton has similarly shown support for LGBTQ+ people, criticising where races take place, alongside having the pride flag on his racing helmet.
Hamilton also campaigns for greater diversity in the sport. As the only black driver at this elite level, this makes him a target for deplorable racist abuse online which only strengthens the need for a campaign for diversity and inclusion.
Yet, there seems to be no real desire from those in charge at Formula One to instigate a true culture change. In fact, the FIA have updated their sporting regulations in 2022 outlawing drivers from speaking on political matters.
Championing social causes whilst signing deals in human rights abusing gulf states, is an insult to the perceived drive for change, and shows that the FIA value profits over the rights of fans and drivers.
‘We Race As One’ is merely a marketing campaign implemented to follow the trends of other sports and to keep up an image of F1 as a sport that cares for change. ‘We Race As One’ as a campaign would be better replaced with a campaign slogan that actually represents the FIA’s values and priorities, something along the lines of ‘We Race For Money’.
Ryan Brolly is a History and International Relations student at Queen’s University Belfast and a Sport Reporter for The Scoop.