A 4-time F1 world champion has slammed the sport’s organizers and questioned if they have any morals

• A four-time F1 world champion has criticized the sport's organizers following the addition of Qatar.
• Sebastian Vettel said the people in charge of the sport needed to ask themselves if they have morals.
• His comments came days after the sport awarded the Middle Eastern nation an unprecedented 10-year contract.

Four-time Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel has criticized the sport's leaders following the addition of a race in Qatar to the calendar.

Last month, Qatar was awarded a 10-year contract, an unprecedented length that not even historic tracks such as Silverstone and Monaco have been granted.

Qatar's addition to the F1 calendar raised fresh debate about the sport's frequent visit to states with questionable human rights records, In 2021 alone, the sport has raced in the likes of Bahrain and Hungary with Saudi Arabia and now Qatar set to feature later this year.

Qatar has frequently been accused of human rights abuses against the large population of migrant workers in the country, and Human Rights Watch describes the community as being subject to "abuse and exploitation."

In response to the Qatar race being added to the F1 calendar, Vettel said he has concerns with the direction the sport is heading.

"I think the trouble is that ultimately a sport, and it's the same as a country, is governed by individual people," he told Motorsport.com.

"Individual people have individual opinions, and backgrounds, whatever, so it is of course difficult.

"But we have to find the perfect people to sort of govern our sport, and then apply the right path going forward.

"There's more than just that interest, there's obviously huge financial interest in going forward."

The Aston Martin driver has been pictured this season wearing shirts promoting causes he believes in such as LGBTQ rights, anti-racism movements and environmental concerns.

"I think at some point you need to ask the question, and people in charge need to ask themselves the question: do you have a moral?

"Do you therefore say no to certain things? Or do you just say 'yes' to any big deal that's around the corner, but for the wrong reasons?

"I think that's the bigger picture stuff that people in charge ultimately need to ask themselves."

The former Red Bull driver said he believed that some topics are "too big to neglect."

"I think we all agree that - and this doesn't matter where you come from - it's only fair to treat people equally," he said.

"I can't speak for all the countries and be an expert, because I don't know. But obviously there's certain aspects in certain countries that I think I know about.

"We go to some of those places, and we roll out a huge carpet with nice messages on it. But I think it takes more than just words, I think it takes actions."

Vettel also called on the sport to think how it could do more to promote good causes.

"I feel that our sport could apply a lot of pressure and could be of immense help to spread that fairness around the globe even more.

"Because in the end, I think it's not right to judge people or to apply certain laws and to differentiate people just because they happen to love a man instead of a woman or a woman instead of a man."