Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone today insisted he had no intention of cancelling Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix despite one team refusing to take part in second practice over safety fears.
Force India packed their cars away following the opening session this morning, and, in a further development Sauber released a statement revealing that a minibus carrying their mechanics was approached by masked men.
But Ecclestone insisted there was “no need to be concerned” despite political unrest in the Gulf kingdom threatening to escalate as one protest group holds “three days of rage” to coincide with the grand prix.
He said: “I can’t call this race off. Nothing to do with us. We’ve an agreement to be here, and we’re here. The national sporting authority in this country can call the race off. You can ask the FIA [motor racing’s governing body] if they can.”
Ecclestone claimed that Formula One has no part to play in the politics of Bahrain, even though the ruling al-Khalifa family are seemingly using the race as a tool to indicate all is well within their country.
When it was suggested to Ecclestone the Bahrain government were using the race for political purposes, he told reporters: “There are other countries much higher up the priority list you should be writing about. Go to Syria and write about those things there.”
Four members of Force India team were fortunate to escape unhurt on Wednesday night when they were caught up in a demonstration during which a petrol bomb exploded close to their car.
The Bahrain track is sited in the desert 25 miles from the capital Manama, and with a sandstorm forecast to hit the area later this afternoon senior Force India officials decided to pack away their cars straight after the morning practice session so that their staff would not face the risk of driving back to their hotel in darkness.
Then Sauber released a statement detailing the frightening incident involving 12 of their mechanics in a minibus that, at 9.50pm local time last night, came across a fire in the central reservation of the main highway back to Manama.
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It read: “The traffic was slow, cars had their hazard flashers on. On the opposite lane there was no traffic. The team members saw a few masked people running from there over to their lane where a bottle was burning as well.”
