Bahrain Bites Bernie's Butt: Protests Zap F1 Season Opener

The first race of the 2011 Formula One season is scheduled to take place in Bahrain on March 13th.

That fact is not due to there being any motorsport tradition in the region, but is entirely due to large sums of money being paid to FOM (Formula One Management), the company headed by Bernie Ecclestone.

That is the commercial basis of the sport. If you can put up enough cash, you can host an event.

Western governments have cosied up to distasteful middle eastern governments in a big way, and perhaps they have had no choice because we are so dependent on oil. And where diplomacy has led, big business has followed. The first Bahrain F1 race was in 2004, and since then we have become accustomed to seeing Bernie and his peers looking happy with Sheiks and Princes of the locality.

But now, Bahrain is racked by protests against the ruling regime. Those cheeky chaps seem to think that they should have democratic rights, and some have been killed by the police for their insolence.

There are, in my view, two reasons why the FIA, the sport's governing body, should knock the Bahrain event on the head.

The first reason is that a major global sport should not be seen to endorse the regime when it is being challenged and may be about to fall. Do not doubt that hosting an F1 event is seen as an endorsement by the regime—ministers of the government there are prominent at all such events.

The second reason is safety.

Leaders of the protest are well aware of the opportunity the presence of global TV feeds will present them. If there is even a credible risk that protesters will appear on the track while the race is in progress, then it will surely be impossible to run cars.

Of course, cancelling the race may cost Bernie some money. But even at 80 years of age, it may not be too late for him to learn what Timothy 1:10 tells us, that the love of money is the root of all evil.

Update: Having (no doubt) given this article full consideration, Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa of Bahrain has now cancelled the race. Who would now bet on the Abu Dhabi grand prix taking place?