Bahrain: Is it right to go?

It has become the saga nobody ever wanted it to become. Once again this year’s Bahrain Grand Prix is shrouded in controversy with little over a week remaining before the race is due to be taking place. So, what are the problems? Are they as bad as they are being portrayed by the vast majority of the world’s press? And finally, we get the go ahead that we will see all twenty four cars take to the grid of the Sakhir Circuit come the 22^nd April?

On the morning of Friday 13^th April, just before China’s Free Practice 1, the FIA released a press statement saying

“Based on the current information the FIA has at this stage, it is satisfied that all the proper security measures are in place for the running of a Formula One World Championship event in Bahrain. Therefore, the FIA confirms that the 2012 Gulf Air F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain will go ahead as scheduled.”

But is it right for the race to go ahead, Nathan Thomas of “The Write Formula” discusses.

For those who are still unaware as to the core issues currently halting F1’s commitment to the Gulf State, the following is what best briefly sums up the problems being experienced. Firstly, Bahrain isn’t helped by its global, geo-strategic positioning, it lies on a fault line separating two sections of Islam, the Sunni and the Shiite; both possessing radically different viewpoints. Importantly both the Bahraini Royal Family and the current consultative/legislative Government are both of Shiite origins, the significance being that the Shiite is also the same religious persuasion of neighbouring country Iran and it is the fear of the Sunni that Iran will use its regional influence in order to dictate proceedings to its advantage, hence the protests.

From this, you will have no doubt gathered that the issue is a political one, unique to the region and nothing directly to do with Formula 1. I would attest though that in some senses Formula 1’s problems have derived from its difference from any other world sport, in that it is extremely political. However, given the current state of affairs you would be forgiven for querying what there is still left to debate, surely with on-going protests including such extreme measures as a hunger strike orchestrated by Bahraini-Danish activist Abdulhadi al-Kawaka, who is currently serving a life-sentence following his arrest in last year’s protests.

As political as Formula 1 is though,  one thing it doesn’t do is carry a forth-right political message, its primary function is to entertain, it is a sport and is out to fulfill its primary function of bringing people together. To go to Bahrain would not automatically mean that F1 supports what is going on, would it? It has been said before but it is worth saying again; if Formula 1 decided against travelling to races where their political structure was less than fathomable we would be left with a very short calendar. This weekend Formula 1 travels to China, an immensely secretive and largely Communist state with a Human Right’s track record that is hardly one to boast about. 

Bahrain also carries further significance given the amount of money she ploughs into Formula 1, McLaren is 50% owned by a Bahraini Consortium and many of the other teams can count on valuable sponsor input from companies in Bahrain or the surrounding countries and regions. If F1 decides not to go ahead with the race, due to regulations their race contract will have to be permanently revoked, this could well lead to key sponsorship withdrawals which could be potentially damaging for the teams more reliant on the external monetary input

Last year the decision to cancel the GP was a joint decision between from the FIA and the Bahraini Royal Family, this time around the Royal Family are convinced that conditions are appropriate for the race to go ahead, subsequently the decision now rests solely on the lap of the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone. We are yet to hear anything official from the FIA’s offices in Paris but Ecclestone has been putting on a strong stance of ‘business as usual’, his ‘people’ are over there and he informed the BBC that they have been free to roam around at their liking as much as the would in London. A similar view has been expressed from a Bahrain resident who I spoke to over Twitter, he told me that the ‘opposition’ – whom he terms to be those against the ruling parties

“Want the allusion that all Bahrain is in turmoil but frankly it's not, the disturbances happen only in only SOME villages”

He also told me how a festival by the name  of ‘The Spring of Culture’ has been taking place without any issue and that the vast majority of people are desperate for the race to go ahead because of how economically valuable it is to the country.

I have no reason to doubt his view, he lives there of course and is arguably better place to make an assumption on the current events than any politician, but what has confused me in this whole melee is how one side of the coin can differ so greatly to the other. By this I mean that the likes of the King of Bahrain and Bernie Ecclestone would have us believe that everything is progressing swimmingly but then you have the likes of Damon Hill and Timo Glock suggesting that maybe F1 is better served keeping away from the trouble.

Individual interpretations aside let’s establish some solid facts; we know that protests have taken place and we know that protestors have died. The bit’s in-between are less than crystal but these two facts alone should act as huge warning signs to those making this very important decision. The difference between going to Bahrain and going to any other politically unstable country is that protests are active and there is a strong possibility that the protestors may use F1 was a way to promote their cause to the world, instantly putting the safety of the travelling paddock, media groups and the fans. Coming back to the point made by the Bahraini resident I spoke to that a major music and arts festival had taken place without any disturbance should count for little. With that festival external interest would have been little if not none at all, protestors want to make large statements and to group Formula 1 and the aforementioned festival into the same category would be a silly thing to do.

The fact that nothing has been confirmed either way says to me things are far from concrete, personally, based on what I have heard, read and seen I think F1 would best served away from Bahrain. However, I don’t make the decisions and this is a business after all and a cut-throat one at that, it is often the case that given what is at stake morals sometimes fly out of the window. One would hope that this is not the case and I do have faith in the likes of Bernie Ecclestone to do the right thing, either way the next few days should be very interesting.

By Nathan Thomas

Editor, www.thewriteformula.net