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Over the decades, Formula 1 has repeatedly found itself at the center of debates over ethics, diplomacy, and the responsibilities of global entertainment entities.

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Races in apartheid-era South Africa faced global backlash, notably the 1985 Grand Prix amid a state of emergency.

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WHEN SPORTS AND POLITICS MIXED! The Story of the 1985 South African Grand Prix

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Controversial races in Bahrain, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, and China raise ethical concerns due to poor human rights records. This shows how sports can be utilized or weaponized for political image control.

“The Saudi government is going all out to bury its egregious human rights abuses beneath public spectacles and sporting events,” said Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Unless they express concerns over Saudi Arabia’s serious abuses, Formula One and participating performers risk bolstering the Saudi government’s well-funded efforts to whitewash its image despite a significant increase in repression over the last few years.”

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The cancellation of the 2022 Russian Grand Prix following the invasion of Ukraine.

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The "We Race as One" initiative was launched in 2020 and centered around two main issues: the Covid-19 pandemic and inequality. It recently adopted the official Environment, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) platform for F1, and the focus was shifted to three new key pillars: Sustainability, Diversity and Inclusion, and Community.

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We Race As One | Formula One World Championship Limited

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In 2020 we launched the #WeRaceAsOne initiative, a platform aimed at tackling the biggest issues facing our sport and global communities, underpinning the Formula 1 strategy to make a tangible difference in the world in which we race. In 2020, the campaign was centred around two main issues: the Covid-19 pandemic, and inequality. And now, with #WeRaceAsOne being adopted as the official Environment, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) platform for Formula 1, the focus will shift to the three new key pillars: Sustainability, Diversity and inclusion, and Community

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Net Zero Carbon by 2030 is an initiative created by Formula 1, and implemented by all F1 teams, event hosts, and key sponsors to change how Formula 1 uses carbon emission. Their goal is to reduce carbon emissions by a minimum of 50% with remaining unavoidable emissions to be credibly offset.

They also want to deliver 100% advanced sustainable fuel by 2025 and drive change and carbon awareness across the sport and beyond.

In doing so they will transform to ultra-efficient and low carbon logistics and travel, begin to power facilities, factories, and events with renewable energy, and work closely with key stakeholders to take climate action.

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Net Zero Carbon Update | Formula One World Championship Limited

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Formula 1 is also working to build a more diverse and inclusive sport by removing barriers, nurturing talent, and inspiring change.

Since this commitment, they've launched the F1 Academy, an all-female driver category, which aims to help develop and prepare young female drivers to progress into higher levels of competition.

Formula 1 also welcomes young students to their facilities to hear from inspirational voices within the sport who hold a wide range of positions, and allows them to get hands on experience in "fun and engaging" activities.

In trying to nurture talent, Formula 1 also provides career insight days, internships in partnership with Aspiring Solicitors, to provide legal work experience to students from underrepresented backgrounds, and scholarships that cover tuition and living expenses to increase diversity within the sport

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Diverse & Inclusive Sport | Formula One World Championship Limited

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Formula 1 is working to build a more diverse and inclusive sport by removing barriers, nurturing talent, and inspiring change.

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In an attempt to leave the world better than they left it, and to leave a lasting impact, Formula 1 has improved circuit access for local communities, inspired local children with stem education, driven meaningful mental health change, provided life-saving breathing devices in Covid-19 fight and more.

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Community | Formula One World Championship Limited

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Actionable Steps:

Partner with the Sports & Rights Alliance and Human Rights Watch

Create an independent ethics chair with the authority to vet and publicly report on all potential host nations

Enforce a minimum human rights and transparency standards for contract renewal

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Actionable Steps:

Introduce a transparent, merit-based selection policy enforced by the FIA

Incentivize teams to develop talent from underrepresented regions

Prevent nationally-based favoritism or politically motivated signings (Nikita Mazepin, Alpine's French driver preferences, Cadillac's American driver strategy)

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Laurence EdmondsonMar 5, 2022, 03:55 AM ET

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* Joined ESPN in 2009
* An FIA accredited F1 journalist since 2011

The Haas Formula One team has terminated its contract with Russian driver Nikita Mazepin and title sponsor Uralkali.

The decision was taken in the wake of Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine and means no Russians are signed up to drive in F1 ahead of the new season.

"Haas F1 Team has elected to terminate, with immediate effect, the title partnership of Uralkali, and the driver contract of Nikita Mazepin," the team said in a statement. "As with the rest of the Formula One community, the team is shocked and saddened by the invasion of Ukraine and wishes for a swift and peaceful end to the conflict."

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The sport's governing body, the FIA, had kept open the possibility of Mazepin racing in F1 this year when it announced this week that Russian and Belarusian drivers would be allowed to continue to compete in international motorsport as long as they raced under a neutral flag and agreed not to express any support of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

However, Haas announced Saturday that the deal with Mazepin and Uralkali had been terminated, with the team saying news on a replacement driver would follow next week.

An hour after the news broke, Mazepin released a statement via social media.

"I am very disappointed to hear that my F1 contract has been terminated," Mazepin said. "While I understand the difficulties, the ruling from FIA plus my ongoing willingness to accept the conditions proposed in order to continue were completely ignored and no process was followed in this unilateral step.

"To those who have tried to understand, my eternal thanks. I have treasured my time in F1 and genuinely hope we can all be together again in better times. I will have more to say in the coming days."

Mazepin joined Haas at the start of 2021 as part of a sponsorship deal with Russian fertilizer company Uralkali, which is part-owned by his father Dmitry via his company Uralchem.

Dmitry Mazepin was one of the business leaders who met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow last week to discuss sanctions placed on the country following the invasion of Ukraine.

The Uralkali deal helped Haas secure its finances ahead of the 2021 season and resulted in a title sponsorship agreement that saw the car painted in the colours of the Russian flag.

At the final day of this year's first preseason test in Barcelona last week, the Uralkali livery and branding was removed from the car, although Mazepin continued to drive the VF22 as planned.

Speaking on the final day of last week's test, once the livery had been changed, Haas team principal Guenther Steiner said the team would be able to continue without the Mazepins' money.

"Financially we are OK," Steiner said. "It has no implementation on the team, how we are running it, how we are doing, how we plan the season.

"There are more ways to get the funding. So there's no issue with that."

F1 announced Thursday that it had terminated its deal to hold a race in Russia, meaning the country will not host a grand prix for the foreseeable future.

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F1's Haas cuts ties with driver Mazepin, sponsor

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The Haas Formula One team has terminated its contract with Russian driver Nikita Mazepin and title sponsor Uralkali.

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An American Team Seeking out an American Driver: Merit Based Hiring?

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An American Team Seeking out an American Driver: Merit Based Hiring?

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Cadillac is the Formula 1 team America has been waiting for

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It was a big weekend for Formula 1 in America, with the world championship racing in Miami and announcing an extension to the circuit’s deal that will see it stay on the calendar until 2041. On the sidelines of the dramatic weekend of racing, American automaker Cadillac hosted a launch party for its incoming F1 team, which could prove to have a longer-lasting impact on F1 in the US. Formula 1 is making no secret of its desire to expand its reach in America. On the back of hit Netflix show Drive to Survive, the championship endeavoured to capitalise on the growing interest with new races in the US and a greater effort to woo American audiences. Viewership in the US subsequently boomed, and the number of people tuning in to watch races on services like ESPN almost doubled between 2018 and 2024. What’s more, the on-track action and off-track spectacle around races in Miami, Las Vegas and Austin are proving that Formula 1’s fit with America is a natural one. However, while fans descend on these grands prix in their thousands, the attending masses still don’t know what it’s like to watch an American team win a home race. This had to change if F1 wanted to prove that it was serious about attracting American motorsport fans. Enter American automotive giant General Motors, which is counting down the days until the Cadillac F1 team makes its debut on the grid in 2026. Cadillac logo
Photo by: Cadillac Communications GM partnered with TWG Motorsports for the entry, which was finally approved over the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend, and the side’s activities have steadily ramped up ever since. All manner of job postings have appeared on its site, an engine deal was inked with Ferrari for its inaugural season, and formal approval was finally granted for its 2026 entry earlier this year. With work on the team and car rumbling away nicely behind the scenes, GM and TWG chose this weekend as the moment to launch the Cadillac squad and capture the hearts of American fans.
Before the team had so much as released the name of a driver it would field or shared a render of its 2026 challenger, Cadillac kicked off its entry into the world of Formula 1 with all the glitz and glam American fans have come to expect from the series. At a launch party in Miami on Saturday, the General Motors-owned brand rolled out Michigan-born actor Terry Crews to kick off the festivities, invited American singer and actress Janelle Monae to perform, and began teasing its arrival on the F1 grid. The event mirrored the polish that F1 strives for at American races like Las Vegas, and the sheer volume of gleaming chrome details and outfits that Cadillac teased during the event rivalled the Vegas shine as well. The launch kicked the conversation about Cadillac’s F1 entry into overdrive, and fans are already engaged. During the event itself, the F1-obsessed crowded around to see who was invited. Some even called out to Cadillac executives to sign Mexican racer Sergio Perez to the team for the 2026 season. Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool This is all playing into Cadillac’s hand in developing buzz around the new team. During a roundtable event over the Miami Grand Prix weekend, Dan Towriss – chief executive of TWG Motorsports, the umbrella company that houses Cadillac – went so far as to tell Motorsport.com that he “couldn’t be happier with the response to the Cadillac Formula 1 team.”
It’s reasonable to assume that the momentum behind the team will only increase from here and, over the ensuing months, the reasons for America to get behind the GM outfit will surely rise with it. America loves a homegrown hero, especially one as proud of its roots as Cadillac clearly is. What’s more, sports fans across the US will always get behind an underdog, which Cadillac will be when it lines up against giants like Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull in 2026. Supporting the underdog is exactly what many fans did when the Haas team burst into F1 in 2016. Back then, the series was a shadow of its current self, and Haas went on to cement its place on the grid with a first pole position in 2022 and a best finish of fifth in the constructors’ standings in 2018. That same season, the side welcomed the Netflix crews with open arms, and the struggles faced by then-team boss Guenther Steiner and its drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen helped give the first season of Drive to Survive its charm.
But Cadillac will be hoping to out-American the Haas with one factor it hasn’t yet managed to make a reality: an American driver. Team boss Graeme Lowdon previously acknowledged that “fans would love to see an American driver in an American team” when speaking with Motorsport.com earlier this year. The team boss has since attempted to temper expectations, adding that Cadillac will select its drivers “on merit” rather than the country on their passport. Still, the excitement around an American side launching its campaign at an American race is palpable, and all kinds of work is going on behind the scenes at Cadillac’s various outposts across the US and Europe to best prepare it for the coming season. The team is now racing to meet major deadlines like the first fire-up of its maiden F1 car, the planned end-of-January shakedown in Barcelona next year, and the 2026 season opener in Australia.
Before then, Cadillac just needs to assemble a team that can unite America’s love of motorsport, design a livery that screams “freedom” and create a car that rumbles like the thunder over Mount Rushmore.
After that, there’ll just be the small task of winning a race or two to secure its lifelong supporters. No biggie, then. Photos from Miami GP - Race Read Also: Formula 1GM’s $5billion hit due to Donald Trump’s tariffs will not impact Cadillac F1 project

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In Sport:

F1's decisions about race locations, sponsorships, and environmental commitments reveal the influence of state agendas and corporate stakeholders on sport

In Society:

F1 serves as a soft-power tool in international diplomacy

It offers a high-visibility platform for promoting or silencing social justice movements, environmental issues, and international human rights narratives

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Three Critical Questions for Consideration

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Three Critical Questions for Consideration

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1. How has Formula 1 been used to legitimize or obscure human rights violations in host countries?

2. In what ways do political and economic interests influence team and driver decisions?

3. Can F1 genuinely champion social justice and environmental goals, or are these initiatives largely performative?

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Since it’s inception in 1950, Formula 1 has served as a unique intersection of sport, technological innovation, and geopolitical influence. More than just a motorsport, F1 has reflected – and at times reinforced – global power structures through its race calendar, corporate sponsorships, and political associations. This presentation aims to explore how F1 is used as both a tool for “sportswashing” and a platform for advocacy, highlighting the tension between commercial ambitions and ethical responsibilities