Bahrain protesters promise \u2018Day of Rage\u2019 as drivers want safety assurances <\/p>\n
By now everyone\u2019s moved on from Formula 1\u2032s decision to return to Bahrain this season, right?<\/p>\n
Umm\u2026 not quite. Protesters in the country are promising a \u201cDay of Rage\u201d on October 30. Rubens Barrichello, the head of the Grand Prix Drivers Association, is saying that the F1 drivers are going to need some serious assurances they will be OK. And British Sports Minister Hugh Robertson says the sport may have \u201ca disaster on its hands.\u201d<\/p>\n
And some of the reports I\u2019m seeing are now questioning that \u201cunanimous\u201d vote of the World Motor Sport Council. No one seems able to present an actual count of those votes. An FIA spokesman has been unable to give just a basic tally.<\/p>\n
Let loose the conspiracy theories of F1!<\/p>\n
(Fun side note: Do you know who owns 30% of Nicolas Todt\u2019s, son of Jean, GP2 race team? Would you be surprised if I said, \u201cCrown Prince Salman bin Hamad al Khalifa\u201d? I didn\u2019t think you would.)<\/p>\n
I suspect the drivers and teams will be forced to answer the question, \u201cWill you go to Bahrain?\u201d more than a few times this week during Canadian press conferences. So stay tuned for that.<\/p>\n
I wish I could determine how this is going to play out. Negative Camber\u2019s piece pointing toward insurance and all the law-talking guys does seem one eventual path. I also wonder if the Bahrain government is not going to have to find the intestinal fortitude to call the race off \u2014 I assume that\u2019s the best scenario for Bernie Ecclestone and F1\u2032s owners.<\/p>\n
You know who I really worry about from the F1 side of things? (I\u2019m certainly concerned about the protesters and people of Bahrain.) I hate to say it, but I\u2019m not that concerned about the drivers and team bosses. I know Jenson Button had his run-in in Brazil once, but these folks will probable be taken to the track in tanks. I wonder how the engineers and the caterers and the \u201cregular\u201d folks who fill out the teams will be treated. I\u2019d think they are the ones who legitimately would be freaking out. I\u2019d love to hear from one of them.<\/p>\n
Go on, F1 journalists with access to the teams. Get in there and ask those people what they are thinking. That would be my first stop when I got to the Canadian GP. …source<\/a><\/p>\n