Safety for Gold

So, the Bahrain Grand Prix. Should F1 have gone this weekend?  No, in my opinion. 

This kind of subject is a dicey one if you don’t wish to become embroiled in a political and moral debate, which I don’t.  Commenting merely from a safety and not moral perspective, I keep seeing people mentioning the gun incident with Jenson Button in Brazil and the situation currently in Bahrain as if they are comparable.

There is no comparison.  Although (we hope and pray) that nothing will happen to any of the teams, drivers and reporters this weekend, there is a possibility that it could happen.  Protests, rioting, petrol bombs and tear gas on the streets does not scream “safe” to me.  What happened with Jenson could have happened at any number of the places on the race calendar.

Safety cannot be guaranteed.  Bernie may well have offered to escort Force India back from the track “without an escort” but anyone can see that this is a merely for publicity.  He has to save face now.

The FIA have made the decision and now the teams have to live with it.  The drivers have been asked to comment with their opinion and the answers vary depending it seems on how well versed at PR they are.

Sebastian Vettel however, just gave me another reason to hate him.

"I heard about the Force India issue," "I think generally being in the paddock it seems to be no problem. Surely outside the paddock there is a risk, but there is a risk everywhere we go.

"You imagine when we go to Brazil it is not the place you want to be, depending on the area you are in. It is not a big problem and I am happy once we start testing tomorrow because then we worry about stuff that really matters - tyre temperatures, and cars."

After two years of having the best car on the track and having the adoration of Red Bull, it seems Mr Vettel truly believes that the world revolves around him.  Yes Sebastian, don’t worry about the people getting hurt outside the track, you just concentrate what really matters……… You.

An F1 Dilemma

Unless you have been living under ground over the past few weeks, you will have read, and probably engaged in discussion regarding the Bahrain Grand Prix.

From an F1 fan point of view, I haven’t yet seen a single fan who supports the race going ahead.  Safety is more important than an F1 race and yet here we are, the Shanghai Grand Prix is almost upon us with Sakhir following the next week, and the race is still on.

It has been said that to guarantee (and you can never guarantee anything really in those circumstances) that nothing less than a complete military lockdown would ensure the safety of the teams, the drivers, the fans. 

It is only two years ago that Jenson Button was faced with men brandishing machine guns at his car on the way back to his hotel and had it not been for the quick thinking of his driver, who knows what could have happened.  That was Brazil.  The threat is far, far greater in Bahrain, anything can happen.

As I have said, so many fans have spoken out against the race going ahead, myself included.  But there, we face a quandary.  The race seems to be on.  We know it is unsafe.  We have all said that it shouldn’t happen.  But will we still watch it?

For me, the answer is I don’t know.  On the one hand my head says nothing may happen, I don’t want to miss the race.  Then there is a pause.  For if I truly believe that the race going ahead is wrong in the current circumstances, am I feeding the beast by watching?

Formula One is a circus is fuelled by money.  Open up Bernie Ecclestone and you would probably find coins running through him, not blood.  But if we watch the race, are we any better?

In other aspects of my life the answer is simple.  I abhor horse racing and believe it is barbaric, the Grand National in particular.  I will not watch and I am actively trying to encourage others not to watch and not to bet.  The Grand National is something again fuelled by money and only the power of people turning against it, not watching and not betting is going to make a difference.

With Formula One however this is just one race.  Next year things may be different and the controversy surrounding the race may be gone.  Can I watch this year, knowing lives may be on the line for the sake of sport?

The answer to this question is I don’t know.  Do you?