Bernie Ecclestone is adamant that Formula 1 will be able to return to Bahrain this year. With last season’s race having been called off as unrest hit capital city Manama, there were reports of more trouble on Tuesday’s one-year anniversary of the Bahraini uprising. However, Ecclestone is sure that the F1 event will not be affected.
In 2011, at least 35 people were killed in the anti-government protests which began with the 'February 14 Revolution'. Yesterday, youths are believed to have thrown petrol bombs at police cars, with the police having responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.
“The only message I got was that there were some kids in trouble with the police,” Ecclestone, Head of Formula One Management (FOM), explained to The Telegraph.
“We are planning to go. I’ve always said that, if there was going to be any drama, it would be on the Day of Rage. They would have to do something then. People there seem confident that a race two months away will be alright.
“The teams are not the slightest bit concerned. They seem happy that things will go ahead without problems. Last year was a more clear-cut decision not to go but things have changed a lot since then.”
On Tuesday, a letter was published by The Times from an All-Party Group of British MPs who are pushing for the race to go ahead. On top of this, Bahrain has enlisted the services of John Timoney, former New York police chief, and John Yates, former Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, to head up the Gulf State’s own police force.
When asked if the sport is being used to any extent by the nation, arguably as a cover-up for the issues which have recently affected the country, Ecclestone replied:
“We’ve always been non-political. Any decision will be made on grounds of safety.”
The race is set to run as Round 4 of 2012 on 22 April.
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