After
deriding Qatar for their human rights record, seven-time world champion Lewis
Hamilton sent another message on Friday by wearing a rainbow-coloured helmet
during the practice for the inaugural Grand Prix in the country this weekend.
Hamilton’s
helmet was painted with the colours of the Progressive Pride flag, a banner
which includes the traditional rainbow design with added colours to recognise
the diversity of the LGBTQ+ community.
Hamilton
posted a picture of the helmet on his Twitter handle following the practice
session. “We stand together,” he captioned the image, with the Mercedes team
also sharing images of the helmet on their handle.
This comes
after Hamilton on Thursday said Qatar is “one of the worst (countries) in this
part of the world” in terms of human rights issues. The country, which is also hosting
the 2022 FIFA World Cup, has been under scrutiny from rights groups for
continued discrimination against women and the LGBTQ+ community.
Qatar and
Saudi Arabia, another country where F1 will make its debut this year, have been
accused of ‘sportswashing’ their human rights image through sporting events. Hamilton
said organisations like F1 are “duty bound” to raise awareness on those issues.
“I do think
as these sports go to these places, they’re duty bound to raise awareness for
these issues and (that) these places need scrutiny, need the media to speak.”
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“There’s a
long way to go. I just feel that if we are coming to these places, we need to
be raising the profile of the situation. I think we can still bring a spotlight
to it and create that scrutiny and that pressure that could hopefully create
change.”
Hamilton
has also called on his fellow F1 stars and other sports personalities to speak
out against the human rights issues in countries like Qatar. Four-time F1
champions and Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel wore a T-shirt in support of
the LGBTQ+ community at the Hungarian Grand Prix earlier this year.
