Uncertain what to expect, I travel with two colleagues and a couple of local
activists, one of whom, Dr Ala’a Shehabi, met with Bernie Ecclestone earlier
this year in an effort to have the race called off.
The protest is fascinating, numbering perhaps 3000, and entirely peaceful.
“Down with Hamad [the King],” they chant. “No F1 in Bahrain”. We are clearly
an unusual sight, and just as clearly, very welcome.
Every so often a protester breaks off from the ranks and shakes our hands. At
the end, when the call to prayer comes, we are asked to stay and eat by a
man in a red Ferrari shirt. I ask him if he’s a fan. “Yes,” he replies, “but
not this year. If you race this weekend it will be over our blood.”
We decline his offer of dinner and head instead to Diraz, a village to the
west of Manama. Here the less savoury side of the protests comes to the fore
when a ‘human chain’ of roughly 100 youths clash with riot police.
Tear gas and Molotov cocktails are exchanged. I file my report from the
rooftop of a ‘safe house’ as explosions ring out below.
Wednesday
Wake up to whispers that F1
and Bahrainis are deeply unhappy with coverage of protests. Also some
criticism on Twitter telling me to stick to reporting about sport, although
it is probably outweighed by encouragement.
My view is that we were asked to come and see for ourselves what the situation
was in Bahrain and that is what we did.
The Bahrain International Circuit made the mistake of politicising the race
(not that it wasn’t already politicised) by using the slogan ‘UniF1ed: One
nation in celebration’.
Head to another protest in the old souk in Manama, which is significant
because we had been told by Bahrain’s authorities that protests do not take
place in town. Riot police break it up after about an hour, using stun
grenades.
Again I don’t feel threatened, with the police — all from Pakistan, seemingly
— exercising caution in view of western journalists being present. Many of
the shopkeepers unhappy with protesters though.
Thursday
Arrive at an extremely edgy paddock where everyone is digesting overnight news
that a Force India hire car carrying four mechanics was caught in a clash
between rioters and police. It seems Multiple Molotov cocktails landed near
the car and the driver had to escape through a gap in the flames.
While the team emphasise they were not targeted, it was sufficiently
nerve-wracking for two team members to ask to fly home. The development
results in a clear shift in mood amongst teams and drivers even if publicly
they continue to toe the party line.
Head to a reception in town in the evening where I’m told I can speak with the
British Ambassador to Bahrain, Iain Lindsay, who has been a strong supporter
of the race. But despite waiting for an hour he never shows. Suspect it may
have something to do with escalating interest back home.
Friday
Breakfast with Colin Freeman, The Sunday Telegraph’s chief
foreign correspondent, who has now arrived. He will cover this afternoon’s
main protest on the main route into the circuit while I hoover up in the
paddock. It’s immediately apparent this is going to be one of those days
when big stories keep breaking every hour.
With activists planning three ‘Days of Rage’, there is heightened security
presence on the way into the circuit. And the sense of unease grows when
Sauber reveal they also had an incident the previous night.
Bahrain is now going global with news reporters from AP, AFP and Sky News
struggling to get visas — and radio stations in the UK regularly ringing for
interviews.
Force India announce they will miss FP2 in order to get back to their hotel in
daylight; a brave move considering Bernie Ecclestone’s likely irritation at
the message that will send out.
Ecclestone lets himself down in my view by dismissing the week’s events as
“nonsense”. “If you can’t find a story you make it up,” he tells reporters.
The Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa mounts a rather more robust
defence, insisting it can be a force for good and to cancel it would simply
“empower extremists”. It seems his view is not shared back the UK.
Labour leader Ed Miliband has jumped on the bandwagon, calling for an 11th
hour cancellation, to which Prime Minister David Cameron responds by saying
“Bahrain is not Syria… there is a process of reform on its way and this
government backs that reform.” Yet another example of how this race has
become hopelessly politicised.
Saturday
BBC World News, Al Jazeera, international newspapers and magazines, F1 is
taking an almighty kicking. And the news the sport was dreading is confirmed
mid-morning. A protester has been killed, activists claim.
Twitter is alive with messages saying F1 has blood on its hands. FIA president
Jean Todt, lambasted for keeping such a low profile during the crisis,
finally shows up in the paddock. But it seems that I, along with my Fleet St
colleagues, have now been blacklisted as he speaks only to other agencies
and TV outlets.
Qualifying is almost an irrelevance. With the funeral of the protester planned
for Sunday, and tensions high, it is hard to know how the weekend will end.