Bahrain is Killing F1

By now you will have heard that the Bahrain Grand Prix of 2011 has been reinstated to the calendar, due to take place on the 30th October. There are clear moral reasons why this Grand Prix cannot be allowed to take place, but aside from the fact that these seem to have been ignored, its reinstatement confirms exactly where F1's loyality lies - money.

For many years Bahrain held a race that was entirely devoid of enjoyable racing. It was hideously apparent that the main, or perhaps only reason F1 had been drawn there was money. Bernie Ecclestone himself admitted that F1 - as a global sport - would expand globally where there was interest. The interest in this case was money. There are other tracks on the F1 calendar where attendance is pitiful and the race tracks are boring. There is also a lack of racing culture and a lack of proper promotion by CVC, so nobody hears about these events, and if they were not aware of them to begin with, why would they attend?

So Bahrain as a track never contributed much to the F1 season - this may explain why so many people felt glad when the race was called off at the start of the year, even with the long winter of waiting for the new season to begin. From a fan's point of view, and I imagine many others agree, the race itself is simply not entertaining enough. There is also a complete lack of atmosphere - contrast it with Interlagos or Silverstone, you will be in for a shock. So, then, the dull Grand Prix has for years now been filling a spot in the calendar which could have been replaced by another new, exciting track.

What really stands out about Bahrain, though, is that civil liberties and basic human rights appear to have been totally abused. The Bahraini authorities have attempted to cover up the atrocities that its security forces have committed, but the world has outgrown this backwardly governed country, and the figures speak for themselves. 36 people have been confirmed dead, 66 are still missing, approximately 1000 have been wounded and at least 4 people have been returned from police custody having lost their lives. There have been beatings at checkpoints and medical care has been denied to the public.

Now I ask you this, would it be the correct decision to honour this country with the huge publicity and large amount of funding from tourism that F1 brings? No, of course it wouldn't. So join together with other members of the F1 community and make the FIA understand how so many of us feel.

Mark Webber has come forward and publicly said that he doubts the race will happen, while also mentioning the abuse of basic human rights that has taken place in Bahrain. He is a popular driver, and I am convinced he will not be alone in publicly refusing to race there, if he decides to protest. There were several teams that said that they would refuse to race in Bahrain even before the decision was made to cancel it last time around, so it would be unsurprising if they registered their disgust before October too.

The whole Bahrain issue has brought a great deal of attention to F1, and to Bahrain. Why is Bahrain killing F1? Not only is it associated with it, but the country is unashamedly endorsed by the FIA. They have ignored issues that are far more important than sport. One is a pastime, the other an entire country with its future dependent upon this year. This will undoubtedly reflect badly upon the sport, and I hope it does if the FIA go ahead with their decision. As an F1 fan or just a reader of this blog, you can contribute to the protest against the FIA's decision too.

There are a number of petitions and twititions that you can easily find if you search for anything about the Bahrain Grand Prix, and the FIA will listen to these because F1 is a sport: it depends upon its fans. If there is enough of a protest, they must listen, so I urge to you lend your support to these campaigns. F1 must not remain in Bahrain - don't let the sport die.