Bahrain: “Maintaining the Grand Prix was the right decision”

This fourth round of the 2012 Formula 1 championship has certainly been a hot topic, even though the focus was mainly on the political dimension that the event took on over the past few months. For the record, Bahrain is a kingdom ruled by a Sunni royal family over a predominantly Shia population. The Arab Spring that began last year was an opportunity for the Bahraini people to start their own revolt, with the violence of the time causing the cancellation of the 2011 Bahrain Grand Prix. A year later, the situation had barely changed, but this time, the FIA and the race organizers were determined to go to the kingdom.

Zayed Alzayani, owner of the Sakhir circuit, also stated that hosting F1 this year was the right decision, particularly hoping that the holding of the Grand Prix would be a calming factor compared to the numerous tensions.

“I think we have proven to the world that no matter what happens on the political scene, it has nothing to do with what happens on the track,” declared the businessman. “Life goes on, and hopefully the opposition and the government will find a solution and can move forward. Hosting a Grand Prix is not something new for us, we have done it for seven years, and I think we were penalized last year. I hope that by next year’s race everything will be settled.”

The Grand Prix as a unifying event, very few people have seen it from this angle, especially not the Shiite extremists who saw it as a unique opportunity to draw global attention to their issues through the spotlight of the “F1 circus”. Less idealistic, Emir Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, king of Bahrain since 2002, declared that the main purpose of holding the Grand Prix was not to yield to the extremists’ assaults, thus not allowing a victory for violence. Let’s recall that Amnesty International accused Bahraini authorities of torturing their opponents in its 2011 report. The troublemakers in question still managed to somewhat disrupt the weekend’s tranquility, with a Force India truck getting caught in a Molotov cocktail exchange on Friday.

I think it would have just caused more problems in Bahrain, continues Zayed Alzayani about the cancellation of the race. The tensions would have been reignited between the government and the opposition, and each would have blamed the other. I am happy that the race took place, I am happy that everything went well and that everyone could see that the rumors of attacks and sabotage of the race did not occur.

Regarding the 2013 race, the businessman shows confidence and doesn’t question it.

“I have never had any doubts about this year, so why would I have any for next year?” he says. “Maybe the solution takes time to be found, and maybe it’s a painful solution, but if we have to go through the pain to reap a benefit, then it’s worth it. We should think of a better solution for the next generation.”