At a recent FIA Gala in Kigali, Rwanda, top Formula 1 executives, including FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem and FOM CEO Stefano Domenicali, publicly praised President Paul Kagame despite his authoritarian record and human rights violations. This event underscores F1’s continued willingness to host races in regimes where democratic freedoms are compromised, as also seen with previous races in Saudi Arabia and China.

The article details Formula One’s strategic expansion into authoritarian host countries like Bahrain, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, raising serious concerns over sportswashing, suppression of dissent, and labor exploitation, thereby implicating the company in supporting repressive regimes.

Multiple human rights organizations sent a letter to F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix, urging an independent inquiry into the company's role in facilitating sportswashing and its complicity in overlooking Bahrain's human rights abuses. The letter highlights failures to adequately address violent suppression, whitewashing of police actions, and misleading public communications regarding the Bahraini government's actions.

During the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Formula 1's high-profile event inadvertently provided leverage to the Culinary and Bartenders Union, helping tens of thousands of hospitality workers secure better contracts with major casinos, including significant wage hikes and improved labor protections.

Human rights groups have accused Formula 1 of ignoring human rights abuses in Bahrain, claiming the organization has failed to engage with civil society and is sportswashing continued institutionalized repression in the country, despite signing a long-term race contract.

F1 has been accused of ignoring documented human rights abuses in Bahrain following the awarding of a new 15‐year contract for the Bahrain Grand Prix, despite prior statements about upholding high ethical standards. Critics, including the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, note a double standard given F1's cancellation of the Russian Grand Prix contract after the invasion of Ukraine.

A 2017 article details inquiries by the Serious Fraud Office and MPs concerning the Concorde Implementation Agreement, which involved a controversial £5m payment to the FIA. The payment has raised allegations of bribery and unethical practices within Formula 1's governance structure, prompting scrutiny over the sport's ethical standards.

In 2008, controversy emerged over Formula 1's political influence when boss Bernie Ecclestone donated £1m to Labour. The donation and subsequent high-level discussions, including meetings between Ecclestone and Prime Minister Tony Blair, led to efforts to secure a permanent exemption for Formula 1 from the tobacco advertising ban, raising serious questions about undue corporate influence in politics.