I wouldn't be so certain about the race going ahead. If Todt - allegedly the sole person in charge of the race - has not said something come tomorrow evening, THEN I think it is safe to assume the race is going ahead.
It's a complete mess. If F1 goes ahead with the race, then they, (and by they I suspect I'll really mean he as in Bernie Ecclestone) will be responsible for any violence that will occur I feel. Clearly the opposition to the ruling regime in Bahrain are going to use the GP for their own means if it goes ahead which can only mean a monumental protest accompanied with violence. We don't want to be discussing how Bernie has exchanged the innocent's blood all in the name of money in two weeks do we. If we are then his legacy may forever be tarnished in the most morbid way.
I'm a bit lost as to why FOTA would look stupid with that statement. Bernie has basically come out and made out that the teams are responsibly for making the decision to race. Which is odd since Bernie makes silly statements about the teams having no power. Surely what's left of FOTA have every right to say it isn't their decision if the race goes ahead and stop Bernie from throwing them under the bus.
FOTA has answered a question that nobody asked. The statement makes them look like they don't fully understand the situation. Ecclestone didn't make out that the teams (either collectively or individually) are responsible for cancelling the race, nor did the media speculation, but that is the sole (non-existent) point that the FOTA statement seeks to address. It's a transparent sophism. Mystery manager says teams want (A). Ecclestone says he can't stop them doing (B). FOTA says it is not possible for teams to do (C). It's also inherently incorrect. If the race organisers and the FIA deem the environment safe and the race goes ahead, but all twelve teams and their sponsors fear a commercial backlash and stay away, although procedurally the race will not have been cancelled, the teams will be held responsible for the race not going ahead. Ecclestone is right (that, for refusing to race, the teams face commercial sanctions from FOM and sporting penalties from the FIA) and FOTA's statement neither addresses his comments nor corrects them. If the race does go ahead (with all the teams in attendance) and something terrible occurs, it won't matter a jot what this disingenuous statement said. The F1 community will be collectively responsible for it, including the teams. These two statements (FOTA's and especially the one from Lotus, telling us that they have no right to make the claims they made on 5 April) have only confirmed that the teams are as mired in the politics of the situation as Ecclestone is and as culpable for creating a vacuum of responsibility for the race organisers to jump into as any other part of F1. FOTA's sole comment on the current situation is to clarify a procedural point that nobody raised - as Joe Saward says, "rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic."
They've fleshed this out now with an explanation from Benson: I didn't know this and it does explain the reluctance to cancel.
Thanks, Max. I didn't know about that rule. It's an excellent rule, one of my favourites. BIC will definitely not cancel then so it's down to Todt. I can see why FOTA and Lotus would be over eager not to want the cancellation spotlight shining on them but I still think it wasn't anyway.
The FIA have done pretty much nothing and then you have Bernie insinuating that the teams hold the power to prevent the race from going ahead when they clearly don't. Bernie has cut the balls off FOTA, so the teams don't have s single voice anyway.They did the right thing distancing themselves from that. It's shambolic... The owners and organizers should be sorting this out, not hiding away or ducking the decision.
They should've just gone to Istanbul from the start, Bernie is literally the only human alive who doesn't realise this. I don't like the prospect of another three week break but if that's what it takes to get that dive permanently removed from the calendar then so be it.
If Bahrain goes is it not a four week break? I was under the impression there was another three week gap following Bahrain.
2012 FORMULA 1 UBS CHINESE GRAND PRIX (Shanghai) -------------- 13 - 15 Apr 2012 FORMULA 1 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX (Sakhir) ------------ 20 - 22 Apr FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPAÃA SANTANDER 2012 (Catalunya) -- 11 - 13 May With the Mugello test on the 1-3 of May
