Bahrain - What a rubbish place to start a Championship!

GroupLotusRenault · Post by **GroupLotusRenault** » 04 Jun 2011, 07:33

Phoenix wrote:Everything I've thought has already been said, so...

shinji wrote:This is a new low.

Indeed.

A huge low for the sport......

dnhrudi · Post by **dnhrudi** » 04 Jun 2011, 08:16

AlpineSmuggler wrote:
dnhrudi wrote:A certain Jarvis Cocker song springs to mind right now........

Wouldn't be Running the World, would it?

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 04 Jun 2011, 09:35

Normally I don't sign petitions let alone advertise them but I think I'll make an exception for this one.

Go home, Bernie Ecclestone!

Ed24 · Post by **Ed24** » 04 Jun 2011, 10:01

Enoch, can you please award the Bahrain GP Reject of the Race to the FIA WMSC now, to save the bother later on?

S951 · Post by **S951** » 04 Jun 2011, 13:50

I doub't I'll be watching it I ususally fall asleep during it anyway

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 04 Jun 2011, 14:19

I will boycott the race and not even discuss it unless I use it as an argument against Bernie.

DonTirri · Post by **DonTirri** » 04 Jun 2011, 16:03

To take a leaf out of the wrestling fanbase's book..

THIS IS BULLSHIT *CLAP CLAP CLAPCLAPCLAP* THIS IS BULLSHIT

Chewie · Post by **Chewie** » 04 Jun 2011, 16:54

Anybody who loves this sport should not be surprised by its ability to totally destroy itself at times.

And Bernie has again pushed the envelope when it comes to idiocy!!!!

Cynon · Post by **Cynon** » 06 Jun 2011, 14:21

Some quotes from the 2005 United States Grand Prix broadcast that may be enlightening, express my predictions, or be relevant to this conversation;

"Two Ferraris will front up to the grid, two Minardis, and two Jordans, this is a disgrace to Formula 1."

"We've all come here to not race... this is going to leave a bitter taste in peoples' mouths. Frankly, I'm embarrassed to be a part of this situation."

"Nine teams agreed not to race ... ... ... the only reason my cars are out there is because one of those teams that agreed not to race is out there and that's the only team we're racing in the championship."

"Formula 1 has done some crazy things lately ... ... ... this one today, I think, will have far reaching implications ... all this talk about interference with the sport needs to stop, and it needs to stop now, because if it doesn't stop, what we're seeing here this afternoon is exactly where Formula 1 is heading..."

BabyG · Post by **BabyG** » 06 Jun 2011, 19:37

I agree with everything that has been said so far. A sad day for f1 and a sad day for the arab spring.

But... if FOTA pulled out I'd be up for an HRT 1-2 :mrgreen:

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 06 Jun 2011, 19:51

BabyG wrote:I agree with everything that has been said so far. A sad day for f1 and a sad day for the arab spring.

But... if FOTA pulled out I'd be up for an HRT 1-2

As happy as I would get with an HRT 1-2, in those circumstances it would make Indy 2005 look like a great race and would be the worst farce ever in motorsport, perhaps in all sports even.

Post by **Londoner** » 06 Jun 2011, 23:33

Hold up, look at this. Is Bernie a turncoat?

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2011/06/07/76/

sswishbone · Post by **sswishbone** » 07 Jun 2011, 06:19

The whole thing is a farce, Jean Todt comes out and says one of the FIA went there and said all was normal. That's almost as bad as sending someone to Sendai and them going 'I only got wet feet', really stupid and totally beneath contempt. Amnesty international point out that medics who tended to protesters are facing charges of trying to topple the government, sound very normal? I don't think so, not to mention the bahrain group for human rights are planning a special day of fury on october 30th now.

What are we going to see? F1 cars screaming around a desert while the backdrop is punctated by Humvee's, M60's and tanks? Do we really want such an image for F1? This seriously needs to be dropped from the calendar.

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 07 Jun 2011, 08:49

Bernie has a rethink about Bahrain.

Still doesn't redeem anyone for reinstating the race in the first place.

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 07 Jun 2011, 09:44

Wizzie wrote:Bernie has a rethink about Bahrain.

Still doesn't redeem anyone for reinstating the race in the first place.

Trying hopelessly to save face. It's game over now. It is probable that they end up not racing the GP, but someone with half brain would've predicted this backlash from teams, drivers, fans and pretty much everyone except those at FIA and FOM (the Bahraini royal family doesn't care about it), as per usual. Why do have to go through this kind of shenanigans in F1? Wasn't simpler and less damaging to do the right thing in the first place and avoid all this? Dumb people are only those who don't want to learn...

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 07 Jun 2011, 10:13

Mad Max has just found catch 22.

The chances of the Bahrain GP going ahead have just taken a nosedive.

Post by **mario** » 07 Jun 2011, 11:04

DanielPT wrote:
Wizzie wrote:Bernie has a rethink about Bahrain.

Still doesn't redeem anyone for reinstating the race in the first place.

Trying hopelessly to save face. It's game over now. It is probable that they end up not racing the GP, but someone with half brain would've predicted this backlash from teams, drivers, fans and pretty much everyone except those at FIA and FOM (the Bahraini royal family doesn't care about it), as per usual. Why do have to go through this kind of shenanigans in F1? Wasn't simpler and less damaging to do the right thing in the first place and avoid all this? Dumb people are only those who don't want to learn...

I think that the answer to why the FIA authorised the reintroduction of the Bahrain GP can be summed up in this comment that Todt said in a recent interview:

"I can only tell you the information I get," Todt said. "What is true in UK is not true in France or in Italy. Remember when Bin Laden was killed? Big story here. Two weeks later it was all Strauss-Kahn. Things keep moving."

Taken from this article http://en.espnf1.com/fia/motorsport/story/50804.html

In other words, Todt seems to be working on the assumption that the public and the media will essentially forget about what has happened in Bahrain in a few weeks time, allowing the public outcry to subside enough for the race to take place in October.

But, unsurprisingly, Bernie now seems to be trying to row back from his original position at the sort of rate that would shame an Olympic athlete - because he can now see that going there will almost certainly damage the sport in the longer term. I can't imagine that CVC, for example, who have a major stake in FOM, would be pleased to be associated with this backlash, and it seems that the teams with manufacturer associations are unhappiest - Ross Brawn has submitted an official letter of complaint, and his position seems to be supported by the Mercedes team, the Renault team and Pirelli.
That said, what seems quite damning of the teams is the fact that some of the teams are still in favour of going, it seems, according to this BBC report http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula ... 673349.stm :

The Formula One Teams Association (Fota), which groups all the teams except Hispania, said it was assessing the situation.
"That (FIA) decision is likely to be discussed internally within Fota, and a more detailed joint position may be defined after those discussions have taken place," it said.

However, Fota vice-president and Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali - who also has a seat on the world council - is understood to have voted in favour of restoring Bahrain to the 2011 calendar. Force India owner Vijay Mallya is also believed to have voted in favour of a return to Bahrain.

Post by **Londoner** » 07 Jun 2011, 11:30

Wizzie wrote:Mad Max has just found catch 22.

The chances of the Bahrain GP going ahead have just taken a nosedive.

I never ever thought one day that I would respect Mosley! Looks like the FIA have trampled all over their own regulations.

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 07 Jun 2011, 11:58

mario wrote:That said, what seems quite damning of the teams is the fact that some of the teams are still in favour of going, it seems, according to this BBC report http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula ... 673349.stm :
The Formula One Teams Association (Fota), which groups all the teams except Hispania, said it was assessing the situation.
"That (FIA) decision is likely to be discussed internally within Fota, and a more detailed joint position may be defined after those discussions have taken place," it said.

However, Fota vice-president and Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali - who also has a seat on the world council - is understood to have voted in favour of restoring Bahrain to the 2011 calendar. Force India owner Vijay Mallya is also believed to have voted in favour of a return to Bahrain.

This doesn't surprise me one bit since some teams have ties with Bahrain ( McLaren) or have close links (Force India) and others just don't care about anything other than themselves (Ferrari).

Cynon · Post by **Cynon** » 07 Jun 2011, 14:17

Wizzie wrote:Mad Max has just found catch 22.

The chances of the Bahrain GP going ahead have just taken a nosedive.

Mosley is doing a damn good job of trolling the FIA right now over Bahrain.

ADx_Wales · Post by **ADx_Wales** » 07 Jun 2011, 15:17

[Bad Taste] So if the FOTA teams dont go, Hispania have a chance of winning a Grand Prix!!??!!??[/bad taste]

In all seriousness though, its clearly a bad move if anyone says yes to it.
Having a GP in Charlie Sheen seems to be a better idea right now.

LukeB · Post by **LukeB** » 07 Jun 2011, 16:07

You know it's a bloody stupid decision when Max Mosley can take the moral high ground.

ADx_Wales · Post by **ADx_Wales** » 07 Jun 2011, 18:49

Whats stupider is that Jake Humphrey, having posted that statement of intent earlier in the thread, has gone on to make an even tougher decision in life:

Brave or stupid? Decided to go jacket-less to the @glamourdotcom awards... #notrendsetter! http://t.co/t35O3yd

NO JAKE DONT!!!! GOING TO AN AWARDS CEREMONY IS MUCH MORE OF A DEATHTRAP THAN BAHRAIN IS IN ITS CURRENT STATE!!! :evil:

What an aerosol.

Klon · Post by **Klon** » 07 Jun 2011, 19:17

ADx_Wales wrote:NO JAKE DONT!!!! GOING TO AN AWARDS CEREMONY IS MUCH MORE OF A DEATHTRAP THAN BAHRAIN IS IN ITS CURRENT STATE!!!

What an aerosol.

Yeah, agreed. What an inhuman piece of flesh, making jokes during a crisis which is two-hundreth times worse than anything else that has happened in any nations' history on this or any other planet in the galaxy. :roll:

Ferrim · Post by **Ferrim** » 07 Jun 2011, 21:17

FIA report on the situation at Bahrain leaked:

http://bit.ly/l2wcXa

ADx_Wales · Post by **ADx_Wales** » 07 Jun 2011, 23:37

Overreacting? Moi? Probably.

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 08 Jun 2011, 09:23

I guess that, for FIA, the Berlin Games in 1936 were perfectly normal too. A happy congregation of people...

*Sorry to confirm Godwin's law, but in this case it is a somewhat reasonable comparation...

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 08 Jun 2011, 11:28

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/08062011/ ... elled.html

Now Bernie goes all 'They (teams) didn't agree with the reschedule so we don't go there'. And then there is this:

Bernie E wrote:Hopefully there'll be peace and quiet and we can return in the future, but of course it's not on

In this whole process he actually made FIA look like the bad guys when originally he was the one who was forcing to go there. What a move Mr E. What a move... Unfortunately for you we have a memory and we still blame you.

EDIT: What a soap opera!

Collieafc · Post by **Collieafc** » 08 Jun 2011, 20:59

Reminds me of one descripion about Bernie - he plays the role of firefighter, putting out various behind the scenes fires - even though he starts half of them himself, just to see the reaction he gets from others

sswishbone · Post by **sswishbone** » 09 Jun 2011, 09:25

Well Parr the head of Williams has simply said it is too late to change the calendar so that's it, we know they will veto going

Post by **Londoner** » 09 Jun 2011, 09:33

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2011/06/09/fia-confirms-december-11th-date-indian-grand-prix/

Here's the rearranged date for the Indian Grand Prix....

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 09 Jun 2011, 09:46

East Londoner wrote:http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2011/06/09/fia-confirms-december-11th-date-indian-grand-prix/

Here's the rearranged date for the Indian Grand Prix....

Article 66 says that ain't gonna happen. :lol:

eagleash · Post by **eagleash** » 09 Jun 2011, 15:55

Looks like it's off again.....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula ... 718417.stm

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 09 Jun 2011, 16:12

eagleash wrote:Looks like it's off again.....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula ... 718417.stm

If you wait a couple of hours it will be on again. Then off... Then on... Then off... You get the idea.

Post by **mario** » 09 Jun 2011, 16:51

DanielPT wrote:
eagleash wrote:Looks like it's off again.....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula ... 718417.stm

If you wait a couple of hours it will be on again. Then off... Then on... Then off... You get the idea.

You've got that right - this race seems to be on and off quicker than a whore's drawers (to use that turn of phrase).

F1000X · Post by **F1000X** » 09 Jun 2011, 17:17

I really hope this whole mess costs Bahrain it's grand prix completely. Same with Bernie.

I kind of feel bad for the Indian race organizers, who have basically been cast aside just so that Ecclestone can pocket more money. If I were in their situation, after having invested millions of dollars only to arbitrarily be treated like a second class citizen, I'd be infuriated.

Jordan192 · Post by **Jordan192** » 09 Jun 2011, 20:10

F1000X wrote:I kind of feel bad for the Indian race organizers, who have basically been cast aside just so that Ecclestone can pocket more money.

I'm not so sure this has been about money - otherwise Ecclestone wouldn't have turned tail as soon as the FIA said it was back on, It feels more like he's playing politics, like this has been some sort of game between himself and Todt to undermine Todt's position and credibility.

Because Todt's been made to look silly while Bernie hasn't really done anything out of the ordinary.

India certainly seems to have been used as a pawn in it all, though.

Peter · Post by **Peter** » 10 Jun 2011, 02:05

So, can we now go to Imola, pretty please Ecclestone?

nome66 · Post by **nome66** » 10 Jun 2011, 02:55

Bahrain is just there to pump crude oil into ecclestone's wallet.
there, i said it.

sswishbone · Post by **sswishbone** » 10 Jun 2011, 06:51

The circuit organisers have released a statement saying they accept that there will not be a race this year and will not pursue it. So common sense prevails, but as previously mentioned, at what cost?