Bahrain GP, NOT

Can't really see it going ahead.

if they go there, its grounds to boycott the whole circus.

Revs wrote:if they go there, its grounds to boycott the whole circus.

It's certainly grounds for serious thought - and a heavy sigh after I'd watched that video.

Dunno - what can WE do...? Write to Sky to say that we're not going to watch the race - that's not really likely to work as individuals. And quite honestly, I don't know enough / have enough vested interest to personally start a campaign.

Now - if Webbo / A.N.Other driver (perhaps NOT Maldonado!) and /or a "historic" team (perhaps leave Willys out of this?) launched a questionnaire / on-line campaign - that might carry enough weight and kudos to get the ball rolling. And then rely on the snowball effect...?

Let us know of any such campaigns eh, DB?

Gelert wrote:

Let us know of any such campaigns eh, DB?

Will do, also the F1 GP game when the site is running.

I don't think a strike by any number of drivers/teams will do anything unless it was more than half the field. Unless they were prepared to boycott the whole season on the back of it, I don't think anything would come of it.

Formula 1 still went to South Africa during the apartheid.

What u on about, DB...? It's all perfectly safe...

Last month, Ecclestone suggested that the troubles in Bahrain were nothing to be concerned about.
"Everyone talks a lot about this part of the world, but Bahrain is the country in the region where there are the fewest problems," said Ecclestone in an interview with the Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper.


Big Bernie has spoken - thus all is well in the world.

Plus a major campaign was launched in The Times by a load of Lords n'stuff that'll sort it all out:



FIA urged to drop the Bahrain F1 Grand Prix amid continued unrest
By Jonathan Noble Thursday, February 9th 2012, 12:34 GMT http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/97447

Bahrain GPThe FIA has been urged by a group of British politicians to reconsider its decision to let the Bahrain Grand Prix go ahead, in the wake of fresh troubles in the Gulf state.

While Formula 1 chiefs are unmoved about the ongoing situation in Bahrain, the topic returned to the news agenda on Thursday when reports emerged of a British man having his fingers chopped off after being attacked in Karranah, which is near Manama.

With matters being far from calm in Bahrain, members of the House of Lords have written on open letter to The Times newspaper to make clear their views on the situation.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Lord Ahmed of Rotherham, Lord Alton, Lord Avebury, Baroness Falkner of Margravine, Lord Hylton, Caroline Lucas and Lord Boswell all backed the call for the FIA to think again about letting the Bahrain GP go ahead.

"Sir, We note with concern the decision by Formula 1 to go ahead with the race in Bahrain scheduled for April," they wrote in The Times.

"The continued political crisis in Bahrain is a troubling source of instability in the Gulf region, and the lack of any move towards political reconciliation concerns those who wish to see Bahrain move in the direction of greater democratic accountability."

After explaining that they had hoped the outcome of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) would have helped calm the situation, they said that in fact the opposite had happened.

"Two months on we see an entrenchment of the positions of both sides which risks letting more extreme voices dictate the progress of the conflict," added the letter. "Given the current dire situation, with daily street protests and the deaths of more civilians, we do not believe that the time is right for Formula 1 to return to Bahrain."

They added: "Bahrain is a major trading hub and financial centre in the Middle East but this brings greater responsibility. Human rights and economic stability go hand in hand and the government of Bahrain must do more to persuade international events and corporations that Bahrain is a stable place to do business.

"Until it takes concerted measures to reform the electoral, penal and judicial processes, international observers as well as ordinary Bahrainis can have little confidence that Bahrain is on the path to reform and political stability. We urge the FIA to reconsider its decision to continue with the race."

The FIA and F1 commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone have so far appeared unmoved by the situation in Bahrain.

It's all just a warm-up for the Syrian GP.

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Really looking forward to this GP. The track is reverting back to pre 2010 so the racing should be good.

Why has Bernie failed to realise (and therefore react appropriately) that the "F1 Circus" plus associated Global Media, will be a magnet for trouble...?

From ESPN (f1live) live blog of qually-

15:04


The finger comes out from Vettel in celebration.

--------------------------

Can I go puke now?

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Great Q. Finger boy's celebration is really annoying.

Good race- Kimi makes me proud. Lots of action everywhere. Fingerboy deserved the win I guess. McLaren pit crew? WTF?

.

I got some much needed sleep this morning, thus missing the race. How did Kimi end up there?


eso

Top race by both Lotus drivers. For whatever reason, they had the legs on both compounds.

Rosberg's defensive driving emulated Schumacher in Hungary on Rubens. But Rosberg did it twice, once to Hamilton and once to Alonso. Very hard aggressive racing on the borderline of fair but in my mind legal (just).

As for the whole Bahrain being unsafe, apart from the Force India 'incident', all went through without a hitch, including GP2 and Porsche Supercup.

Most reported that the description of the situation there (in terms of safety) from the media back home was totally wrong (at this point in time anyway).

es0- How did Kimi end up there?

Awesomeness?

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Also- Reuters story on the race obviously not written by a race fan, much talk about the politics/demonstrations, And this line- "High security kept trouble well away from the track, where Red Bull's Vettel led an uneventful race before half-empty stands."

Uneventful?

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/22/us-bahrain-grandprix-idUSBRE83J07R20120422

.

gueuzeman wrote:Also- Reuters story on the race obviously not written by a race fan, much talk about the politics/demonstrations, And this line- "High security kept trouble well away from the track, where Red Bull's Vettel led an uneventful race before half-empty stands."

Nobody crashed. Nobody ate ice-cream half-way through the race. It didn't rain. And Vettel won. Yup - uneventful just about covers it.

BOLLOX - a FANTASTIC race: If BigJohn had let Kimi past, Kimster would have won that...! Rosberg using Schummi-tactix now that he's got his first WDC win under his belt. McLaren having a full-on 'mare. And some great action all the way through the field.
OK - so not Canada 2011 - but a great pot-boiler nonetheless.

Note to Bernie: Bring back Turkey NOW! If so few people at a GP (Bahrain 2012) is "a success", then Turkey is a guaranteed "success" - it ain't the politics, it's the track and the racing.
Note to Valencia: start sorting your track out now people - you're a yawn-fest waiting to happen.

If they were racing in Turkey this year the norm would be a 5 stopper!