The Bahrain Grand Prix was finally cancelled after Formula One teams complained about competing in the country, which was racked by months of popular uprisings against the regime. The F1 teams were expected to race at the Sakhir circuit on March 13th,2011 as the season got underway at the island kingdom. Jean Todt, the president of the FIA, motor racing's governing body, and Bernie Ecclestone, the sport's commercial rights holder, found themselves at odds over the event that had been rescheduled for October.Todt’s position has been seriously weakened by the fiasco in which he overlooked the fact that any changes to the schedule cannot be made without the unanimous approval of all the teams. The very sensible and logical decision was made by the Crown Prince of Bahrain, Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who incidently is the rights owner of the race.
The Formula One Teams Association (Fota) had written to FIA raising objections for the race to be held, understood to be based on personnel and logistics.
The event was initially scheduled to be held in March 2011, but was postponed as the clashes between the Shia population & the Gulf kingdom's security forces, heavily backed by the forces of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, had intensified.
The organizers were under pressure to not to reschedule the race after an anti-race campaign had received more than 3,00,000 signatures. At the same time many of the staff members of the organizing committee were sacked, all of them Shia, after they were alleged of having taken part in the anti-government demonstrations.
Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al-Khaleefa said that due to the prevailing civil unrest, the nations priority was on overcoming the tragedy, healing divisions and rediscovering the fabric that draws the country together, reminding the world of the very best that Bahrain is capable of as a nation once again united.
Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has revealed that the Bahrain government paid the hosting fee for its Grand Prix this year despite the race being cancelled. The annual fee is estimated at £25m that Bahrain's royal family pays CVC Capital Partners, owners of the commercial rights, to schedule their grand prix as the season's opening round. This premium ensures maximum publicity, even though the Bahrain International Circuit is such a poor track that the event itself is virtually guaranteed to be an anticlimax.
The year 2011 has seen a series of challenges and human rights concerns in the Middle East. The 2011 race was eventually canceled due to the political unrest in the nation kingdom but the government of Bahrain says it’s safe to come back and 2012 is looking fine. The issue at hand is the reports are contradictory as one would expect from a nation struggling for it’s control. Ecclestone, intriguingly, says he’d like to go and see for himself what the situation is. Talk to those accusing the government and discern if these reports are true. Lets keep our fingers crossed for 2012.
What do you think? We’ve asked this question before. Should Formula One be political? By going to Bahrain in 2011, would that have been an apolitical statement or a political one? By not attending, was it an apolitical statement or a political one? Should Formula One include Bahrain on the 2012 calendar?
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