Formula 1 Has Made a Big Mistake in Bahrain

The Arab Spring is now more than a year old, but its twists and turns are always surprising.
We didn’t expect that al-Assad could be shaken from his iron grip on Syria, but it seems he will be put aside like several dictators before him - Ben Ali, Mubarak, Qadhafi, Saleh.
We didn’t expect the Arab Spring to affect the Gulf States, but last year, Yemen fell into civil war as democratic opponents to the regime insisted on ousting President Saleh. Finally, he was wounded in an attack on his palace and went to Saudi Arabia for treatment, never to be the dictator again as Yemeni politicians and the population moved to put a better face on their country.
It was also a surprise when Bahraini shiites rose up against their host country’s sunni ruling group and tried to start an Arab Spring in Bahrain. This uprising was cut short because of the intervention of Saudi Arabia to protect the Bahraini indigenous sunni population from the long-term shiite guest workers become quasi-citizens, who had been given voting rights in parliament, but considered it not sufficient, and who are being supported by Iran in its bid to destabilize the Arabian peninsula and the United States’ presence there.
In the midst of relative quiet in Bahrain, an unprecedented set of events has occurred in the past month.
Formula 1 racing cancelled last year’s F1 in Bahrain because of the then-ongoing rebellion. But, Formula 1 head Bernie Ecclestone and his advisors, if he has any worthy of the name, decided that 2012 would be the year that F1 went back to Bahrain. Astonishingly, the Bahrain ruling family agreed and Saudi Arabia has remained publicly silent.
So, with some disquiet in the ranks of the F1 teams, and with a few brave drivers saying they “aren’t politicians” but it seems an odd thing to do, Formula 1 is in Bahrain this week, getting ready for a grand prix on Sunday.
Well, almost all of F1 is there, because after being caught up in their car in a protest march and escaping injury when a fire bomb exploded near them, several Team India employees have reportedly returned home and won’t be in the pits on Sunday. Team India, itself, refused to enter the trials on Friday but say they will be there on Saturday to qualify for the race on Sunday.
The protesters say the bomb was not meant for the Team India car and they are not trying to drive F1 away. This is echoed by the president of the Bahrain Formula 1 group and also by a spokesman for the ruling family.
But, today, there were more protests. Police are stationed around Manama, the capital of Bahrain, and a tank and police are on the road leading to the Formula 1 racetrack controlling everyone who wants to enter the area.
So, what was a relatively peaceful lull of almost a year in Bahrain has been turned into another round of violent protests.
Could Bernie Ecclestone not see what would happen?
Did the ruler of Bahrain really believe he could hold an F1 without the opposition shiites using it for all the publicity effect possible?
Did the F1 team leaders really think that because grand prix racing is not political, it would be spared the turmoil that is everywhere in the Gulf and especially in Bahrain, where the opposition is heavily controlled but not eliminated?
Do the heads of Team India, Robert Fernley, and Ferrari, Stefano Domenicali, really believe that saying they support the goals of the protesters will win them peace on Sunday or even help to calm the explosive situation their sport has created?
And, where oh where, are the King of Saudi Arabia and his Foreign Minister. These two leaders could have put a stop to the entire idea of racing again so soon in Bahrain, but they evidently chose not to.
I hope no one is hurt this weekend. I hope the protesters do not disrupt the F1 race because it is honestly non-political, and its actions in going back to Bahrain prove that it is not only non-political, but naïve in the extreme.
May Monday morning come without bloodshed.