“Why is it any different here? he said. “Look at what happened in
London when we had a guy jump into the Thames and stop the Boat Race.
“Do you want to tell me there is no threat on the Olympics in London?
Should we should stop the Olympics? What’s the difference? There are idiots
everywhere in the world. Does that mean we just sit at home and lock
ourselves up?
“So let’s have the event, I’m sure it will be a good event, a safe event.
“I can assure you most of the people who are hesitant or reluctant about
Bahrain will change their perception within the first day of being here.
“We’ve seen it, and people who have already been to Bahrain and were
worried and everything like that, they left with a different perception.”
Moreover he does not believe the future of the race is at stake.
“We’ve been in Formula One for seven years and we will be in it for much
longer than that,” he added. “We wouldn’t take a decision on a
gamble. But it’s a calculated decision, we’ve weighed up our options and we
are committed to the grand prix and to its success.
“I don’t think anything drastic will happen. It’s not Syria or
Afghanistan. I don’t see why anything should happen this year that hasn’t
happened in the previous years.
“I don’t see any benefit for anyone personally attacking the media or the
teams or anything.
“Even those who are protesting weaken their message if they do so. Why
would you go and attack the media?
“I think they will probably look out for the media to try and get their
message abroad, which is fine. Let them express their opinion.”
Alzayani feels F1’s visit will allay some of the myths that have been
perpetrated in the run-up to the race, although appreciates problems do
exist that cast a shadow over the race and Bahrain.
“Will this year be exactly like it was in the past years? No,” said
Alzayani. “We know that for a fact and I’d be lying if I sat down and
told you it would be the same and eveything’s normal.
“The country has gone through a tough year, we are still wounded in some
aspects or another, and we are on the way to regaining our health. But the
race will be positive to the country, positive to the economy which has
suffered a lot in the last year and a half, and it will put things in
perspective.
“A lot of the damage that has happened to Bahrain post the events of last
year have been driven by perception, by people not necessarily writing what
they see or hear.
“For us, we will be happy for the teams and the journalists and the media
to come to Bahrain and see it and then write about it.
“Things are not 100 per cent, but they are not as bad as people make them
out to be.”