Bahrain GP situation: postponed, reinstated, cancelled

[bhall]

[amouzouris]

thats something F1 doesnt need..

[manchild]

[MIKEY_!]

Also, I wonder if the "Monarchy" want the race to go ahead and for there to be trouble. The protestors have been pretty much spoken of as "peacful", but if they let off bombs, attack track staff or team personal, it would be a PR disaster for them. Maybe that is what the Monarch wants?

You are quite possibly the king of conspiracy theories... good thinking!

[Hail22]

http://au.eurosport.com/formula-1/eccle ... tory.shtml

It seems Skeletor is certain the GP will be going ahead.

[SimMaker]

Also, I wonder if the "Monarchy" want the race to go ahead and for there to be trouble. The protestors have been pretty much spoken of as "peacful", but if they let off bombs, attack track staff or team personal, it would be a PR disaster for them. Maybe that is what the Monarch wants?

You are quite possibly the king of conspiracy theories... good thinking!

Hello, good to speak to you.

Well, I sure don't know the politics of the region, who represents what religious faction/group.

But it seems logical to me, that if the protestors are using the F1 race as a political focus point and a opportunity to get their message across, it is certainly the same case for the Monarchy, and if they can't show the world that Bahrain is "modern" and peaceful, maybe the next best bet as far as they are concerened, is to show the world that the protestors are not as peaceful as believed??

"For Sure" the race is now more political than sporting.

The only honest answer I can give as to whether the race should go ahead is...."I don't know". As I don't understand what is going on, nor do I know who is telling the truth.

I will say. After 9/11, 7/7, Iraq, Afghanistan....that the West and Islam have not seemed to be getting on very well. But with the races in Bahrain and Yas Marina (UAE) it did look to me as if we had some common ground on which to build. And I do find it upsetting that F1 is being dragged in to what seems a never ending religious conflict in the region. Certinaly not what I was hoping for out of these new events in the region.

Very sad, but also very confusing. I don't know what or who to beleive.

[Hail22]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/17688401

Seems like there is a meeting, I'm not at the Chinese Grand Prix weekend otherwise I would have more knowledge.

Anyone know what the inside word may be?

Will Skeletor (Ecclestone) silence the teams and get his pot of gold and grand prix?

Will the Teams win and gain a possible extra test weekend?

[Richard]

Don't forget the sponsors, they hold the puppet strings for both Ecclestone and the teams.

[Hail22]

Don't forget the sponsors, they hold the puppet strings for both Ecclestone and the teams.

Oh I know that completely

[Richard]

Here are some quotes on the BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/17688401

Interesting that people who are paid by Middle East money are being non-committal, it infers they are not willing to publicly support their paymasters.

[Giblet]

Here is from the Thursday press conference:

Q: (Steve Dawson - ESPN Star Sports) Does any member of the panel acknowledge that they might have a moral difficulty in going to Bahrain next week?

(There is no reply)

[SimMaker]

Here is from the Thursday press conference:

Q: (Steve Dawson - ESPN Star Sports) Does any member of the panel acknowledge that they might have a moral difficulty in going to Bahrain next week?

(There is no reply)

"There is no reply"

The whole thing just gets more bizare.

[blokkie]

with the sponsors and everything ... I think it's in every drivers best intrest to say nothing about it .
Follow the money per driver and you'll see why they keep quiet

[WhiteBlue]

I'm surprised by Jean Todt taking this position. I think that his view of the political situation is not correct. He may also have to regret the decision regarding the risks involved. Naturally I would like to see a race but personally my risk estimation tells me it is not appropriate to have the race. I hope I'm wrong and nobody gets hurt if they carry on with the plan.

[strad]

Human Rights Watch has warned Formula 1 that by holding next week's Bahrain Grand Prix, it will be endorsing the kingdom's regime despite claims that sport and politics don't mix.

Joe Stork, the deputy middle east director of Human Rights Watch, which monitors human rights issues worldwide, stopped short of calling for the race to be cancelled in an interview with AUTOSPORT. But he believes that if the race does happen then F1 will be seen as supporting the government.

"You can't say that you are not mixing politics and sport when you are coming down on one side," Stork told AUTOSPORT. "You may prefer not to be facing the choice of whether to go in or stay out, but this is the choice F1 faces. Whatever decision it takes, there is a political aspect to it.

"We don't feel that it is our place to be calling for F1 to boycott Bahrain. But it is not a very good situation and it's getting steadily worse. We are not security experts, so that's a whole separate consideration that F1 needs to take into account as well.

"We are looking at a lockdown. F1 is not my world, but this seems to be a terrible climate in which to hold what is supposed to be a competitive, festive sporting event. In the circumstances, I don't know who is going to be having any fun."

Stork believes that even though there is a good chance that security forces in Bahrain can make the race itself safe, F1 will face serious questions about its willingness to race there.

Protests against the race have been ongoing in Bahrain in recent weeks according to widespread news reports, and they are expected to continue once F1 arrives.

"I think that they [F1] will have some explaining to do," said Stork. "I can easily imagine that the security will be such that you won't have the race disrupted on the track and I imagine that they can keep that under control.

"But if you have a situation where there are demonstrations on a nightly, if not daily basis, clashes with security forces who aren't known for the most sophisticated crowd control techniques is not going to be good.

"It's not going to be good for Bahrain, it's not going to be good for F1 either if it happens either during the race or when it's clear that the demonstrations are primarily aimed at stopping the race. That's what the story will be."

Stork accepts that staging the race will be a positive for some in the kingdom - specifically the government - but that this is not a valid argument for the race going ahead.

"From the Bahraini government's point of view, of course," he said when asked if there were potential benefits to the race going ahead. "They are desperate to make the case that the situation is normal from a security point of view, normal in terms of civil strife, and that it's one big happy family.

"But the fact is, it's not normal. I'm not sure that it's the mission or the mandate of F1 to be participating in these kinds of exercises.

"Then there's the financial aspects. The economy of Bahrain is not in the best shape given the year-plus of civil unrest. F1 is a money-maker and is good for Bahraini business and tourism.

"The [ruling] Al Khalifa family are desperate for [the grand prix] to happen. But that doesn't mean that it should happen."