Should the Formula 1 race in Bahrain go ahead ?

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Do you think the F1 race in Bahrain should go ahead

Yes
24
16%
No
122
84%
 
Total votes: 146

Thaddeus
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Post by Thaddeus » Sat Jun 04, 2011 1:16 am

Bad decision, in my view.

Kudos to Webber for his statement, and for Damon Hill's advocacy against the race going ahead.

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Post by jacfan » Sat Jun 04, 2011 2:49 pm

Goes to show that to some it all comes down to money!!!!

Has anyone consulted with the drivers and the teams?? Not a good situation.
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Post by Ed » Sat Jun 04, 2011 7:49 pm

Mark Webber continues to be highly critical of the decision to re-instate the Bahrain Grand Prix. In his latest post on his website, Webber states:
My opinion is unchanged since I was first asked about this in late February. Even though a decision has been made, I’ll be highly surprised if the Bahrain Grand Prix goes ahead this year.
In my personal opinion, the sport should have taken a much firmer ...
This appears on the main page of Webber's website with a link to the full statement. However the link didn't work and now the website reports a 'page not found' error.

We'll keep checking to see if the link to the article is restored

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Post by Ed » Sat Jun 04, 2011 9:44 pm

The full statement by Mark Webber (courtesy Mark Webber's official site):
My opinion is unchanged since I was first asked about this in late February. Even though a decision has been made, I’ll be highly surprised if the Bahrain Grand Prix goes ahead this year.

In my personal opinion, the sport should have taken a much firmer stance earlier this year rather than constantly delaying its decision in hope of being able to re-schedule it in 2011. It would have sent a very clear message about F1’s position on something as fundamental as human rights and how it deals with moral issues. It’s obvious that the parties involved have struggled to reach a decision but sadly I feel that they still haven’t made the right one. Like it or not, F1 and sport in general isn’t above having a social responsibility and conscience. I hope F1 is able to return to Bahrain eventually but now isn’t the right time.

As a competitor I do not feel at all comfortable going there to compete in an event when, despite reassurances to the contrary, it seems inevitable that it will cause more tension for the people of that country. I don’t understand why my sport wishes to place itself in a position to be a catalyst for that.

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Post by jacfan » Sat Jun 04, 2011 10:29 pm

I agree with Mark.
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Post by mlittle » Sun Jun 05, 2011 6:24 am

jacfan wrote:I agree with Mark.
Agreed.....now if only more drivers had the stones to stand alongside Mark and tell the little Troll & his minions where to put the Bahraini blood money...... :evil:


One thought...........just posted this over on Facebook concerning the FIA's decision to put Bahrain back on the calendar:
Blood money......the Troll(a/k/a Bernie Ecclestone) & the idiots of the FIA decided to take the Bahraini blood money. Another example of how money trumps principle & consicence. "Unite people"? Yeah, right.
Now if we could just get a boycott started of the Bahraini GP for 2011............[/url]
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Post by Tim » Mon Jun 06, 2011 2:17 pm

The decision to reinstate the Bahrain Grand Prix bothers me from more than one angle. The situation on the ground is anywhere but resolved yet that was completely ignored by the FIA.

The statement they released was very misleading and at first glance paints a rosy picture of the situation there but if you read it carefully it states otherwise!

The statement mentions "It should be noted that the recent announcement by the King of Bahrain has established a political dialogue and reconciliation process", this is a process and whether the process is working or not, the statement doesn't say,

Then it mentions "This decision reflects the spirit of reconciliation in Bahrain, which is evident from the strong support the race receives from the Government and all major parties in Bahrain, including the largest opposition group, all of whom endorse the Formula One Grand Prix and motor sport in the country"

I haven't seen any statement from any opposition group supporting this, on the contrary, Human Rights Watch issued a statement to the FIA warning them of reinstating the race! (link). The statement specifically stated: "Human Rights Watch questioned whether a successful Formula One event could be held in an environment characterized by large-scale arbitrary arrests, prolonged incommunicado detentions, credible allegations of torture, and mass dismissals of workers, in violation of Bahraini as well as international law. According to recent news reports, those dismissals and arrests include about a quarter of the staff of the government-owned Bahrain International Circuit, the site of the annual Bahrain Grand Prix. "

Lastly, I cannot understand how they just brushed aside the scheduled Indian Grand Prix and moved the date to a yet undecided date! What about those fans who planned to go to India

All this for pleasing Bahrain ?

I hope FOTA takes a tough stance as I think most of the drivers would agree with Webber but aren't allowed to talk due to certain sponsorships.


Please note: These are my own personal views and don't necessarily reflect the opinion of NewsOnF1.com

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Post by jacfan » Mon Jun 06, 2011 9:49 pm

Bernie Ecclestone insists the decision has nothing to do with Bahrain's annual $40 million fee
:ROTFLMAO: :ROTFLMAO:
I had no idea that Bernie was a comedian!!!
Yeah and we believe that one........NOT!!!!!
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Post by jacfan » Mon Jun 06, 2011 9:52 pm

Tim wrote:The decision to reinstate the Bahrain Grand Prix bothers me from more than one angle. The situation on the ground is anywhere but resolved yet that was completely ignored by the FIA.

The statement they released was very misleading and at first glance paints a rosy picture of the situation there but if you read it carefully it states otherwise!

The statement mentions "It should be noted that the recent announcement by the King of Bahrain has established a political dialogue and reconciliation process", this is a process and whether the process is working or not, the statement doesn't say,

Then it mentions "This decision reflects the spirit of reconciliation in Bahrain, which is evident from the strong support the race receives from the Government and all major parties in Bahrain, including the largest opposition group, all of whom endorse the Formula One Grand Prix and motor sport in the country"

I haven't seen any statement from any opposition group supporting this, on the contrary, Human Rights Watch issued a statement to the FIA warning them of reinstating the race! (link). The statement specifically stated: "Human Rights Watch questioned whether a successful Formula One event could be held in an environment characterized by large-scale arbitrary arrests, prolonged incommunicado detentions, credible allegations of torture, and mass dismissals of workers, in violation of Bahraini as well as international law. According to recent news reports, those dismissals and arrests include about a quarter of the staff of the government-owned Bahrain International Circuit, the site of the annual Bahrain Grand Prix. "

Lastly, I cannot understand how they just brushed aside the scheduled Indian Grand Prix and moved the date to a yet undecided date! What about those fans who planned to go to India

All this for pleasing Bahrain ?

I hope FOTA takes a tough stance as I think most of the drivers would agree with Webber but aren't allowed to talk due to certain sponsorships.


Please note: These are my own personal views and don't necessarily reflect the opinion of NewsOnF1.com
This is just typical of the kind of BS we are spoon fed and expected to believe. It says a lot of words but says very little when broken down.

I think all of us would realise that you speak for yourself Tim and not for newsonF1 as a whole.
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Post by mlittle » Tue Jun 07, 2011 4:20 pm

jacfan wrote:
Bernie Ecclestone insists the decision has nothing to do with Bahrain's annual $40 million fee
:ROTFLMAO: :ROTFLMAO:
I had no idea that Bernie was a comedian!!!
Yeah and we believe that one........NOT!!!!!
Yeah, the Troll's a comedian...........if you're referring to comedy of the dark arts, maybe. :evil:
Politicians have more honor than the Troll...............can't believe I actually just said something good about politicians in general but it's the truth. :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:
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Post by jacfan » Tue Jun 07, 2011 4:27 pm

mlittle wrote:
jacfan wrote:
Bernie Ecclestone insists the decision has nothing to do with Bahrain's annual $40 million fee
:ROTFLMAO: :ROTFLMAO:
I had no idea that Bernie was a comedian!!!
Yeah and we believe that one........NOT!!!!!
Yeah, the Troll's a comedian...........if you're referring to comedy of the dark arts, maybe. :evil:
Politicians have more honor than the Troll...............can't believe I actually just said something good about politicians in general but it's the truth. :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:
LOL!!! Though I tend to agree with you there. I think there are people who enter the political arena in the hope of doing something good. However Bernie Troll-Doll is akin to Chucky. Pure freakin' evil.
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Post by mlittle » Tue Jun 07, 2011 4:28 pm

jacfan wrote:
mlittle wrote:
jacfan wrote: :ROTFLMAO: :ROTFLMAO:
I had no idea that Bernie was a comedian!!!
Yeah and we believe that one........NOT!!!!!
Yeah, the Troll's a comedian...........if you're referring to comedy of the dark arts, maybe. :evil:
Politicians have more honor than the Troll...............can't believe I actually just said something good about politicians in general but it's the truth. :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:
LOL!!! Though I tend to agree with you there. I think there are people who enter the political arena in the hope of doing something good. However Bernie Troll-Doll is akin to Chucky. Pure freakin' evil.
Come to think of it, Wen.......even Sado-Max had more honor than the Troll ever has had........and that's downright scary if you think about it long enough....... :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:
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Post by Jim Watt » Thu Jun 09, 2011 9:39 am

:D Incredible that there should be such confusion in the leadership of F1!!
What this shows to the world, including we fans, is that the current management clearly cares only about money; not about racing, not about drivers, not about fans, simply money.

If their 'product' were as ugly as their agenda, no one would be watching or even care about F1.

But Mark Webber, at least, has a heart and brain as brilliant as his talent in a car. I just wish the other drivers were backing him up. Where are your huevos, Fernando? What happened to your principles, Lewis? I can forgive Sebastian (he's just a kid), but how come elder statesman Michael Schumacher (who has zilch, zero, nada to lose) is so silent?

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Post by Tim » Thu Jun 09, 2011 12:12 pm

It appears that sense is prevailing and it is looking more likely that the event won't go ahead and the Indian Grand Prix will take place on the 30th of October.

Apparently the FIA ignored the fact that the teams have to approve a change in the schedule and it is reported that 11 of the 12 teams dissaprove of going to Bahrain this year.

Aparently a letter was sent from FOTA to the FIA objecting to going to Bahrain and that has forced Ecclestone to change his mind and is now stating that the race will not go ahead!!

Will this drive a wider wedge between the FIA and FOTA ? That remains to be seen!

Still, more drivers and team bosses should have raised concerns just as Webber did

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Post by jacfan » Thu Jun 09, 2011 7:22 pm

Don't you just love it when common sense wins the day!!

The Troll doll must be spitting chips!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:
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