• Track near Riyadh could be ready to host race in 2023•
Human Rights Watch urges F1 to consider its positionPlans to stage a
Formula One grand prix in
Saudi Arabia would serve only to further the gulf state’s process of sportswashing and help legitimise the country’s repressive regime, according to Human Rights Watch.
Proposals for a new circuit outside the capital Riyadh were announced recently and the track could be ready by 2023. F1 is in talks but will not make any comment on the race. That the track, designed by the former F1 driver Alex Wurz to top FIA standards, is being built suggests a deal is not far off.