It should have been cancelled weeks ago. The fact is it wasn’t (blame Bernie Ecclestone, the FIA), and now that they are there, the teams and drivers have little choice but to get on with it. Contracts are in place between drivers, teams, sponsors, the FIA, FOM so there would be massive repercussions for anyone to pull out now. Regardless of how they feel. Take the Williams catering staff member who decided last week she didn’t want to go on moral grounds, she had her contract terminated on mutual grounds. The force India team did not take part in Friday practice 2 because they wanted to get back to their hotel before dark. How did FOM reward them? They gave them zero exposure of tv the following day in qualifying. Make no mistake, the teams, drivers etc do not want to be there, but have little choice due to contract agreements. The villian here is Bernie Ecclestone and his greed.

Yeah nothing covers up genuine protestors, described by independent media as middle management and doctors rather than your normal extremists or protestors, being attacked by the state than a good old sporting event!! By your logic the isolation of South Africa during apartheid was daft because sure at least it would have given the repressed a spectacle!!

The teams and drivers are contracted to be there but the viewing public has no contract to give this event tv ratings.

No. If it had been cancelled, there would be zero media coverage this weekend, with no opportunity for protestors to gain global recognition of their plight, bar an F1 news conference explaining why it was cancelled. Indeed we wouldn’t be having this poll right now, as very few media outlets cover stuff that doesn’t happen..
It is now top of the news pile for the whole weekend, and the people have one of the biggest media circus’s in the world to record their dissatisfaction and protest.

It should have been cancelled but in a way I’m glad it wasn’t. It has helped to bring focus to this rogue regime in Bahrain as well as their links to Formula 1 (they sit on FISA and own 40% of McClaren racing team). The regime, they cannot be referred to as a government in my opinion, is also closely connected to British and American military interests and is a substantial customer of the british armaments industry.

Unfortunately F1 itself has been damaged by this whole matter. From the awkward silences of the teams to Mr.Ecclestone’s and Todt’s denials of the facts to Sebastian Vettel’s idiotical desire to get back to what really mattered, when asked about the situation. It is without doubt one of the greatest lows in F1 history that has, by default done a great service to the people of Bahrain.

What about the Chinese, Indian and Turkish Grands Prix? All have dubious human rights records.
Sport played its part before with apartheid.

I voted no but agree with the comments that it is too late when all the teams and fans are there, and after the race what will be done to the situation in Bahrain nothing it was cancelled last and what difference did it make….

http://f1-racers.net/ This has been hacked By Anonymous, Bringing a further unwanted spotlight on F1.

Greetings from Anonymous

For over one year the people of Bahrain have struggled against the oppressive regime of King Hamad bin Al Khalifa. They have been murdered in the streets, run over with vehicles, beaten, tortured, tear gassed, kidnapped by police, had their businesses vandalised by police, and have tear gas thrown in to their homes on a nightly basis.

Still the regmine persists to deny any meaningful reform and continues to use brutal and violent tactics to oppress the popular calls for reformation. Not only is the Human Rights situation in Bahrain tragic, it becomes more drastic with each passing day. For these reasons the F1 Grand Prix in Bahrain should be strongly opposed. The Al Khalifa regime stands to profit heavily off the race and has promised to use live ammunition against protestors in preparation. They have already begun issuing collective punishment to entire villages for protests and have promised further retribution “to keep order” for the F1 events in Bahrain. The Formula 1 racing authority was well-aware of the Human Rights situation in Bahrain and still chose to contribute to the regime’s oppression of civilians and will be punished.

We demand the immediate release of human rights worker Abdulhadi Alkhawaja who has spent over 70 days on hunger strike. He has committed no crimes and is being punished by the regime for advocating people’s basic human rights. Free him and all other political prisoners in Bahrain. End torture. Deport all mercenary police and stop the use of tear gas against civilians.

We Do Not Forgive. We Do Not Forget. Expect Us.

0x0 was and still is here. Join #OpBahrain

I voted no for the following reason. It appears that it is now being used by certain British “politicians” to score party points by calling for it to be cancelled. Why didn’t they raise concerns before the teams arrived. A great many F1 fans will have paid a lot of money to attend. My own feeling is that it should never have been included in this years F1 calendar in the first place but “King Dollar” rules again. Or should that have read Bernie Ecclestone??

It should not be going ahead, It reflects very badly on a sport that I love. Remember when the FIA was happy to race in South Africa? during the apartite era? It was a very bad time for Formula One, And today’s race will help to bring back the idea of rich Self centered sportsmen who care more about themselves than the well being of the underprivileged.

Ever hear of full stops Darren?

I’d love to know how many people on here got their opinion on the matter after they found out about the problems in Bahrain…because of the issue of the Grand Prix taking place there. I’d bet good money that a significant number had never even heard of Bahrain up until a couple of weeks ago.

Of course it shouldn’t be cancelled. The opposition movement there couldn’t have bought the world wide publicity that the F1 has brought them. The very fact that it wasn’t cancelled and the perceived injustice of it means coverage of their struggle is going to stay in the media a lot longer than if it had of been cancelled and forgotten about in two weeks. Instead of the headlines reading “Bahraini Grand Prix cancelled and relocated to (wherever)”, they’ll now read “Bahraini Grand Prix goes ahead amid mass unrest”.

Stephen I would say it is surpassed by your own, I’m as a big a football fan as you’ll meet and as you can see above I’m diametrically opposed to him.

Cancel all F1, it’s shite!

I’d like to see the amount of people who will still be talking about the situation in Bahrain in about 2 weeks time. Probably not many, as the next ‘hot topic’ will be bouncing around the internet.

If this is going to be the case with all sports we may as well give up now. As someone already said, “What about the Chinese, Indian and Turkish Grands Prix? All have dubious human rights records.”

So let me ask you this. Would you be against the Chinese GP if you knew that the workers who made the smartphone you’re possibly reading this on, had to work for a terrible wage and ridiculously long hours, so much so that some of them committed suicide so they wouldn’t have to live like that?? Imagine killing yourself was the better option than going to work tomorrow. I understand that it’s not oppression but it ain’t much better, and this is just one vague example.

I watch sports for pleasure not politics, lets not mix the two up. And I’m not just talking about F1 here.

Not to sound too much like a teacher lads but can we keep it on topic? People are raising some great points on both sides so would be nice to keep it focussed.

https://www.facebook.com/Official.SebastianVettel

Let auld Seb know how you feel, i did and feel much better for doing so

Let’s try getting the US Grand Prix at Austin, Texas cancelled as well. Texas prides itself as the “lethal injection capitol of the world”. The state kill hundreds via legalised murder. They don’t kill the rich,however. The US Grand Prix rejoins the F1 calendar on November 18. So you have plenty of time to get going on this one.

There was a young man shot at close range in Bahrain, with a Shotgun, last year at a demonstration. A deliberate execution by a police man. The photo showed a man with a 5 inch circular hole at the back of his head, an empty skull.

The doctor that rushed to look at him, on the street has been charged with his murder due to medical negligence. He is not the only one. Bahrain is like Libya or Syria. The only difference is that the Bahrani monarchy is friends to the west.

What does”full stop” mean? Is it like “end of”? Right? ;)

F1 should be cancelled. Full stop.

oh dear me darren.
your level of ignorance borders on the criminal.
i see you like football. . . . .’nuff said really.

Although sport shouldn’t always be mixed in with politics, the F1 race in Bahrain is the only chance for the majority of people in Bahrain who seek democracy and proper human rights to highlight their plight. The west won’t condemn the fact that doctors and paramedics are in jail for treating wounded protesters, because the US 5th fleet is stationed there, the royal family who suppress the majority are related to the Saudi royal family who the West needs for their oil, and if the Shia majority were democratically represented it would bring them into the sphere of influence of the other two Shia states, Iran who is the wests main enemy and Iraq who the US has politically lost control of with the election of prime minister Maliki, an exiled Shia activist who sought refuge in Iran. It is in the wests interest to keep the status quo at the behest of the ordinary Bahrainis.

Why let these guys spoil the viewing pleasure of all us civilised people? Their problems are not our problems and to pretend they are is pure hypocrisy.

Of course it should have been cancelled . It should have been boycotted by. All involved, regards of any contractual agreements. I do not accept this as an excuse for doing. Anything that is immoral. Shame on the lot of them, money should never excuse this. Behaviour, F1 thumbs down. From me.