Ecclestone expects trouble-free Bahrain race

F1 Fanatic round-up

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In the round-up: Bernie Ecclestone expects no problems with the forthcoming Bahrain Grand Prix.

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No concerns about Bahrain Grand Prix, says F1 boss Ecclestone (Reuters)

“I think they (both sides) are talking now anyway… so I don’t think they’ll upset the talks by making protests. It didn’t help them last year, so if they had any brains they’d just get on with their talks.”

Hamilton can win title Stewart (BBC)

“Yes, they can win races. Lewis will drive the living daylights out of whatever car he’s got.”

Preview – 2013 UBS Chinese Grand Prix (Sauber)

Nico Hulkenberg: “The circuit in Shanghai is not particularly one of my favourite tracks, nevertheless it’s a demanding one, especially the first few corners and the corners before the back straight.”

2013 Formula 1 UBS Chinese Grand Prix preview (McLaren)

Jenson Button: “We know where we’re losing performance, so I think we’re actually all looking forward to seeing just what we can achieve in Shanghai.”

Rookie diary – Marussia’s Max Chilton (F1)

“It’s still quite surreal to stand next to the like of Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso on the drivers’ parade but a lot of the drivers are pretty welcoming and I haven’t felt out of place. I’m sure in a few races it’ll feel totally normal.”

Lewis Hamilton explains F1 drivers’ race seats (F1 Fanatic via YouTube)

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Comment of the day

@Tango considers Eric Boullier’s thoughts on team orders:

When you put it in Boullier’s perspective, team orders don’t seem bad at all (but you have to accept that F1 is a business, not a sport). Namely, even at the beginning of the year, if one of your drivers can let the other one past as easily as possible when one is clearly faster than the second, overall team performance dictates that the team orders the driver ahead to do so. Pure logic really.

This line of thought has a caveat: it should work for both drivers, be situation based (who is faster during said portion of the race) and potentially reciprocal even during a single race if speed of drivers alternate during the race.

Descartes is not dead. Boullier pursues a proud French tradition of rationalising irrational subjects (but obviously I disagree completely: drivers should race all along, whoever is behind/in front).
@Tango

From the forum

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to LAK!

If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is by emailling me, using Twitter or adding to the list here.

On this day in F1

Giancarlo Fisichella scored his first F1 win for Jordan a dramatic, rain-hit Brazilian Grand Prix ten years ago today.

The race was red-flagged after separate crashes by Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso scattered debris across the main straight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ih9Zi6Wo9nI

Image © Force India

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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93 comments on “Ecclestone expects trouble-free Bahrain race”

  1. So Bernie is legit delusional…

    1. Well he can´t said he expects to be trouble, protest and violence.

      Bahrain is always gonna be trouble for F1.

      1. pretty much that @celeste

      2. Not as long as throughout the race, like during the Speed broadcast, TV cameras stay below the skyline hiding clouds of smoke billowing up in the background ;)
        I believe Keith posted a Pic here….

        1. An armed Helicopter hovering over the Force India in the picture to this round-up does a lot to show all is not really that well, doesn’t it @budchekov, but Bernie will keep saying its fine, until he finds a reason to say its not (meaning he wants to have a better paying race in its spot)

    2. Haha.

      So Bernie is legit delusional…

      But it’s funny how the protesters there call F1 a blood sport, depicting them in graffitis and such, when it’s Bahrain, financing all the troubles in the world.

    3. I don’t think Bernie’s comment shows any delusion, it’s simply Bernie’s latest attempt at a self-fulfilling prophesy. If you tell people enough that a race will go ahead, or that the start time needs to change, or that they need to pay more, eventually that becomes common knowledge rather than simply one man’s opinion. He plays the game very well.

  2. Although I watched the race live back then, it’s hard to imagine Brazil being at the start of the season nowadays. For me, it’s the best place to end the season, and I hope it does for many years to come.

    Although it doesn’t cease to amaze me how lucky Webber and Alonso were 10 years ago, today.

    1. OmarR-Pepper (@)
      6th April 2013, 1:53

      Safety in F1 is so good nowadays (and by nowadays I mean Post-ayrton f1). Alonso left the track in an ambulance that day, and after that race there have been other big crashes (Heikki, Kubica in Canada, Webber in Vaencia, Massa in Hungary, Buemi without tyres, etc) and all of them surviving makes me also feel nervous, because nobody wants more lives lost, but F1 is a risky sport and a flying tyre can kill somebody the way Surtees Jr was.

      1. IMO every year in F1 we should see a few crashes a that look like they should end in deaths but don’t nowadays thanks to improvents in safety.

        1. There are still many ways a driver could die. As shown with the massa and surtees incidents. Id rather not see that. But at the same time i dont agree with enclosed cockpits.

          My bigger worry is (more so in bike racing/and lower formula) is marshals standing in wrong places. I again fear that will be where the next incident or death will be. In brazil in 2012 there was one on the edge of the track on the main straight. Things like this must never happen.

          Also again certainly in bike racing the marshals need to be improved. Too many times they have moved a rider when in no way should that be done. I know they are volunteers and do an excellent job but IMO they should be paid and be professionals and therefore responsible for what they do. This would improve the safety of themselves and the riders/drivers.

  3. Gotta love Force India’s thirst for innovation… But surely sticking a helicopter on top of the car to add more downforce is against the rules?

    1. Chris (@tophercheese21)
      6th April 2013, 4:01

      ;) I see what you did there. Hehe

    2. rofl, nice one ;)

  4. Hopefully this site is not used to push an anti-bahrain agenda like it was last year. That put me off this site for about 6 months last year.

    Please can we keep it about the racing and paddock, instead of using F1 as an excuse to speak about the political challenges within the country.

      1. Please can we keep it about the racing and paddock, instead of using F1 as an excuse to speak about the political challenges within the country.

        Why would anybody need an excuse to speak about political challenges? This is what every human being should do.
        Can we please be humans, instead of using F1 as an excuse to NOT talk about what is wrong with the world?

    1. Anti-Bahrain agenda? More like people speaking out about obvious government oppression. And its kinda hard to ignore when said government use the race as a propaganda tool. So stop proposing censorship in an open forum please.

      1. Look I dont enjoy reading about all the terrible things going on that are out of my control in this world. That is a choice that I’m allowed to make for myself and so when I go to an F1 website, I dont expect to be bombarded by depressing political news.

        It is also not easily avoidable, because admittedly, I’m addicted to F1 and F1 news. I read _every_ F1 article I find, just so I can absorb all the info that is out there. So when an F1 article comes out about the race in Bahrain, I’m going to read every line within it. However when the article is mostly about non-F1 news, but instead about bahrain and torture etc, that leaves me in a mood I’d rather not be in.

        I’m a scientist and so I consume information in very open minded way, by looking at an issue from all possible directions. I’ve also been trained to question information to find faults in it. That way our findings are (hopefully) not based on incorrect information.

        Last year I read a lot about the situation in Bahrain and the way in which well established media firms so easily misrepresented, ignored, opinionated and falsified facts was extremely concerning to me. If you look at the sources the news firms use to base their articles, you can see where extremely important information is left out. Information which if included would leave the reader with a vastly different opinion on the subject. I’d hate to be labeled a conspiracy theorist (because I’m not), but it was more obvious than ever that the large media firms had an agenda to damage the credibility of the Bahrain government.

        I think I’ve explained why I dislike reading about the topic. You simply cannot count on the information we’re being fed.

        1. @joshua-mesh

          Regardless if the information discussed is false or real, as a scientist you shouldn’t be so emotional to put yourself off a site for six months. Nor should you blind yourself from the cirtical events surrounding the track. I feel it’s rather shallow if everyone pretends to not have a view on the critical topics around the race.

          Also as a scientist, if you feel the information is incorrect, then you should show the correct information.

          Conspiracy theorists? LOL I was implied that by someonere here a year ago, because I feel Alonso was signed by McLaren as a marketed gauranteed race winner, in case their neutured Hamilton flopped. And I still believe that, and I’m still here. ;)

          So take the opinion of others too personal, it can only make you stronger.

          1. Arh, typos, meant, *Don’t take the opinions*.

          2. If you want to discuss the politics in Bahrain on this site fair enough but Don’t start pushing it 2/3 weeks before the start of the grand prix. If these things are taking place surely it’s all year round and not just before the race. I just want to watch F1 regardless. There are Human rights issues etc going on all over the world but all we get is Bahrain

        2. Ignorance is bliss, so may I suggest closing your eyes and putting your fingers in your ears. That will stop your depression. On a more serious note, the Bahrain government has no credibility but most governments don’t. So its not an agenda, its an unfortunate situation.

        3. I still don’t understand why you can’t ignore articles which are clearly going to discuss the politics.

    2. @joshua-mesh

      Then just don’t read any of the Bahrain related threads. Like people have their freedom of choice to express their views, you also have yours to not look at them.

      1. You are aware that there is an F1 race in Bahrain, and so it is simply not possible to ignore any news article about the race held in that country?

        I will however avoid any BBC articles in their “politics” category regarding Bahrain.

        1. On your profile it says you started watching F1 in 1950? So you really like one of those ancient lab coat scientists? Cause if you are, that’s cool.

        2. Of course it’s possible to ignore news articles about the race in Bahrain. Just don’t read them, then watch just the race itself, not the pre-race/post-race coverage. Voila, they’ve been ignored. Countless millions of people do it every race weekend.

          What you really want to say is “don’t post something I don’t agree with,” but you know nobody will listen to you then.

      2. Regarding not reading any articles relating to political situations, good luck. I can’t beat my f1fanatic subscription we will have over 500 comments regarding the Bahrain race/government before the event is even held. Keith himself will even write an article about it.

    3. Because freedom and democracy is overated anyway. Woo, go North Korea, Iran and Cuba! =D

      1. I think that’s taking his argument out of context. I enjoy this site as it’s a great place to read F1 news and opinions, and join in on debates and hear the views of some very knowledgeable and intelligent F1Fanatics. Last year these discussions were devoured by the politics of Bahrain and the humanitarian situation there.

        I come to this site for the excellent discourse and news about Formula 1, not to engage with or read about political, social or humanitarian struggles in a country where a race is being held. As such I agree with the essence of the above comment in that all I want to read about on this site is stuff directly related to motorsport.

        TL;DR – I want to read about F1 and F1 related topics on this site, not politics or human rights inspired hand wringing.

        1. Great. F1 is going to Bahrain. So talking about the role F1 has in Bahrain is talking about F1. F1 is the playground of the oil industry. The oil industry is what makes F1 move (literally). The oil industry has interest in the politics of Bahrain (they NEED OIL). F1 has interest in the politics of Bahrain. We propose that F1 is being helpful to a corrupt, evil government that has no regard to the commoners, and is just interested in the oil-rich. Thus we are saying F1 should rethink its position, and consider the possibility of showing that the oil industry (and its playground) are not that desperate, and don’t need the kind of cruelty shown in that country.

          This is talking about F1. The problem is that most people who are against ‘political discussion’ are trying to shield themselves from the fact that F1 is political, not only technical. You people are trying to ignore the fact that we, F1 viewers, are supporting the oil empire, which does horrible things (torture, abuse, etc) so we can sit back, drink a beer and watch spoiled little brats follow team orders at high speed.

          We are part of the problem, and we try to ignore it. That’s the truth.

          1. My problem is discussions about the horrors of the ‘oil empire’ have little use when discussed in the context of a F1 website, the purpose of which site is to discuss Formula One, not the woes of the world or how F1 plays a part in them.

            All this talk is about as much use as Kony 2012 or shouting “Down with this sort of thing!”. You want to discuss human rights violations, or the corrupting influence of oil corporations? Go to an activism site or any other outlet on the internet set up for that very purpose. Keep the faux bleeding heart rhetoric off of here, because if people cared that much, they wouldn’t watch F1 at all for the reasons you state. And yet here we are. Looks hypocritical to me.

          2. The point of such discussions on this website is that there are people who are unaware of the situation, others are undecided (about the whole ‘blood on hands’ situation). By explaining our point of view, we hope to reach them and perhaps bring them to those very activism websites, or, even better, we can hope that people who deal with decision making in F1 read this blog (which is one of the best, if not the best), and see that many of us do have concerns about it, and a change of policy would be in order.

          3. And I would reiterate my point that this is a Formula One oriented website and any political activism, protest or awareness promotion is beyond the purpose of this site, and that a great may readers dislike such topics dominating the news and topics reported here (as happened last year). This is not the place for moral grandstanding, especially when it does nothing for the people of Bahrain and will not have any effect on how Bernie or F1 conducts its business and to believe it does is just naivety.

            Writing articles denouncing the race and the rulers of Bahrain on a Formula One website, commenting on said articles…these things do nothing for the people of Bahrain and only give some a chance to climb upon high horses. I will keep a wide berth of such discussions on this site in future.

    4. @joshua-mesh In my experience those who are genuinely disinterested simply do not read and do not comment on articles about it.

      Those who peddle the “it’s not relevant” line are those who believe F1 should put on a race for anyone, regardless of how much blood is on their hands.

      1. @keithcollantine I beg to differ. I believe everyone who visits this site loves the sport, some more than others. Some of us offer opinions, views and arguments to project what we think, some just read. F1 is a business it will do what it wants and what it thinks will make it successful.

        Prior to the race in Bahrain last year, it was hard not to get involved in the arguments/discussions posted on this site as it was flooded with so many. As I mentioned before, we are only human and we all have opinions and is what makes this site work so well. However to state “Those who peddle the “it’s not relevant” line are those who believe F1 should put on a race for anyone, regardless of how much blood is on their hands” is insulting.

        As we did last year, we can spend hours going over the political problems with the world, we all have our own beliefs, especially close to our own homes, but we are sport fanatics, not politicians. We don’t encourage or engage in the propaganda which create these situations which result in “blood on hands”.

        I’m heading to China next week to enjoy my second GP of the year, I’m sure there are people in the world that protest this event and believe although China is one of worlds largest economical powers it betrays it country with political corruption and should not be paying to host as GP and addressing other issues. We don’t even need to mention Korea here do we? Well not yet. I witness this for weeks/months leading up to my home GP in Melbourne and while I post opinions and facts on the situation it’s first hand information and something I’m personally experiencing.

        I don’t believe the situation in Bahrain is ideal, but I would like to see the site focus on the politics of the sport itself and not the politics of the area/state/country it is being hosted in.

        1. How can someone fail to see that the politics of the sport are closely related to the politics of the host country, specially when it is a country that lives on oil export? I cannot believe anybody truly does not see the connection.
          We may not be politicians, but we are all citizens, and it is the duty of a citizen to be involved in politics. Furthermore, by watching the race we are supporting the host country, whether we want to or not. That is why we raise our voices against a race being held in such a place – we do not want to be part of it, but we cannot stop watching the damned thing.

          1. @flig If the politics of the sport are so closely related to the host, why are we not protesting the Austin GP? It’s in Texas right? The Bush family is from Texas, they have major shares in the oil companies… Why not? Because its out of our control. If you want to raise your voice do so, go over there, start a petition, write to Bernie but don’t sit behind your screen and claim we as supporters are in the wrong by wanting to watch the sport we love.

          2. I strongly protest against anything USA related, those monsters should stop their terrorist/warmongering ways and their predatory capitalist behavior as soon as possible. I’m not ‘claiming’ we are in the wrong, I’m stating it, it’s a fact. And I’m not ‘sitting behind my screen’, you don’t know where I am or what I do. Honestly, you don’t want to start this discussion, not here. Let’s keep it to Bahrain if order in Keith’s house is to be maintained. When he talks about Austin, we’ll talk about Austin.

          3. it is the duty of a citizen to be involved in politics

            Hell NO! It is the duty of a politician to be involved with their citizens.

            It’s the failure in this duty that’s the root of all political problems, whether in Bahrain or elsewhere.

          4. If citizens give all the political power to politicians, then you get this sort of mess. If citizens exercise their power and are involved in politics, theoretically, things improve.

      2. Kieth, then can we ask that you give every F1 country the same level of political coverage? Some articles on China and how it treats its people. Articles on the USA and how it has its CIA agents abduct people and fly them to country’s where they can legally practice torture on them (source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22048932 ). Abu dahbi and their tax traps used to fill human labour camps with armies of slaves. You could easily find a problem with every country F1 visits.

        If you are going to be keeping to your policy, then please do it consistently and not selectively.

        1. Personally I think off topic articles are best keep to the forum

        2. This has to be by far the most sensible comment on the issue here.

        3. When Bernie Ecclestone starts commenting on the political situation in other GP hosting countries, I’m pretty sure Keith will cover it.
          As for his comments policy, it is pretty clear (read the link).

        4. I agree 100% with your comment.

          1. Kieth, your very first statement in that article highlights much of the problem here.

            “You can either stand with them [the protesters], or with those seeking to make money out of their misery [FOM].”

            That statement reminds me of the one the USA made when they announced their war on the middle-east. “You are either with us, or you are a terrorist”.

            It is similar to Zuma’s “You are either white or you are black” comment.

            I am not with the USA and I am definitely not a terrorist. I am not white and I am not black. I am not with the protesters and I am not with those seeking to make money off of them.

          2. So @keithcollantine for those of us that can’t re-call your position on this subject, why don’t you come out and say exactly what you think rather than insulting your clients?

          3. @funkyf1 I haven’t insulted anyone and I just told you what my position is.

          4. @keithcollatine If you had read my comments above you would re-call that I believe you insulted @joshua-mesh and others who share YOUR site with your “it’s not revelant” “blood on their hands” claims.
            If you have an opinion state it, don’t expect us to review it from your previous statements.

      3. I guess this isas good a time as any to wish LAK a very happy birthday and to hope that he enjoys his local GP and that the political situation there is settled amicably without further pain and distress being inflicted on the population.

      4. Those who peddle the “it’s not relevant” line are those who believe F1 should put on a race for anyone, regardless of how much blood is on their hands.

        That’s a pretty blunt and frankly ignorant swipe at commenters and readers of this site that choose to voice a different opinion on this matter than you. I don’t come here to be lectured on what is going on in Bahrain and believe that such discussions only invite unconstructive arguments that do nothing for the people of Bahrain, or to change the way F1 chooses to operate. If there is blood on my hands for that, then so be it.

        1. @colossal-squid It seems to me that by your last sentence you’d conceded the point you objected to strongly at the beginning of your comment.

          1. @keithcollantine If it came across that way I apologise, that wasn’t my intention. My intention was to highlight how absurd and inflammatory (to my mind) your contention that those who don’t vehemently oppose the race have ‘blood on their hands’. I don’t think it wise to cast aspersions on those who dislike world politics being brought up on a website dedicated to F1.

            I will freely concede (and have never disputed) that there are terrible things happening in Bahrain and have happened before and since the first Grand Prix was held there, and terrible things happen and have happened in other countries that also host races.

            If you have such a strong feeling against the race then why not refuse to report on it at all? No practice, qualifying or race reports. No stats and facts, no rate the race (although I’d miss all of these terribly!). Boycott it entirely. To me saying you’re against the race and then reporting on it is contradictory. I think that reporting on a race you feel shouldn’t be held gives it a legitimacy that you feel it doesn’t deserve.

      5. ‘Disinterested’ means unbiased, not uninterested. One can be disinterested, yet still be fascinated about something.

        1. @nigel1 Good point – I meant uninterested!

    5. I think the uniF1ed campaign was the problem for me, and so any F1 site not talking about politics after that wasn’t talking about an F1 issue.

      As a scientist, perhaps you should acknowledge the freedom of the site author to write what he wants, regardless of your individual requests.

    6. each to his own really @joshua-mesh, for me keeping track (and being critical of soothing comments from Bernie, Bahrain government and interested celebrities) of the Bahrain situation. From all that I have read and discussed about the whole situation, I would say that Keith gave a lot of space for reporting of all sides of the situation, we even had birthday LAK sharing her views directly from Bahrain in the forum etc., so I would hope that after reading much about it, you might disagree with Keith on his view, but its not fair to say the sources mentioned were one-sided or part of an agenda.

      I think its only fair that the owner of the blog is clear about his views on the situation and does not fear having them discussed (Its unfair to call it anti-Bahrain, when if fact its very critical of the official government/FOM/FIA line, since when has a government become the sole representative of a peoples in any non-autocratic state?). After all, this is one of the most clear cases of politics meeting F1 currently. Lets not forget that with Bahrain funds interest in McLaren, their representative in the FIA world council etc, it has a direct influence on our beloved sport.
      And politics arguably also get into discussions about Albert Park and the elections there, the proposed races in Argentina, a recently talked up move from Sao Paulo to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil as well as the background for the Russian race in Sochi and the reasons for discussions about a French GP (being dependant on either Hollande or Sarkozy winning presidential elections) and the future of both the Spa and the Nurburgring races.

      I can fully understand if you feel uncomfortable with so much of it, but I guess the easiest way really is to either accept it as fact and read the articles (or show what is wrong with them) or alternatively just not bother reading them.

    7. MB (@muralibhats)
      8th April 2013, 9:37

      Interestingly, your post has made people talk about Bahrain even more on this forum :)

    1. Hulkenberg and the helicopter are neck and neck, who going to win it?

  5. That’s still one of the coolest F1 related pictures I’ve ever seen.

  6. I have got to admit there has not been too much protests against F1 in Bahrain then there was last year and Bernie has made the right decision about this year but the question will they continue to race after 2015 when the contact is up for renewal

  7. That picture…should be sent to a photo contest…

  8. Descartes is not dead. […] rationalising irrational subjects […]

    Englighten me?

    1. I was afraid the moment I’d send this post someone would eventually point out how it is academically wrong. As a Frenchman I’m afraid I have had to study some of its work at school (prepa school as we call it) and I know how bad that sentence is.

      I just wanted to highlight how in France we tend to try and find a logic in something when we should look for morality first. When we (the French) talk about a cartesian mind, it really is quite far from Descartes’ work, but rather the image we have of ourselves (and how we love to just discuss the rational of about anything, even saying the opposite of what we believe is right just for the sake of an argumentation… And doing so even for subjects which seriously, needn’t be analysed and rationalised, but rather seen on the angle of belief and moral). I like how maybe only somebody from France could really say something as peremptive as “I think therefore I am”. I guess if Descartes had been English, he’d say “I think therefore I am… I think.” (I believe I first got this expression from Bryson)

      Anyway, thanks for the COTD @keithcollantine , it’s always a pleasure to be selected and thanks @victor for showing how off it is :D (I still hope pursuing and elaborating Boullier’s take was worthwhile).

  9. Didn’t Bernie say the same thing last year because if memory serves my correct Force India almost retired from the GP because of a Molotov-cocktail.

    1. Yes, he said almost exactly the same @force-maikel

  10. Is it my imagination, or was Hamilton’s slight American twang less pronounced in that video than it has been at times? I was fascinated to learn he falls asleep between Q1 & 2, I always though the sitting position looked kinda uncomfortable, but I guess not!

  11. That headline should be rephrased: “Ecclestone expects trouble-free Bahrain race for himself” – it’s easy for him to say when he’s going to spend his whole time with top-notch security and his mates in the Bahrain royal family.

    It’ll be interesting to see if any more teams suffer petrol bomb scares like last year.

  12. “Lewis will drive the living daylights out of whatever car he’s got”.

    Yes, if it were Formula 1 in 2007/08. The Pirelli tires sadly forbid him, or any driver to do that.

    1. Nail on the head!!

      1. exactly, today, one drives the wheels of the car!

      1. I think it would surprise the F1 world and perhaps even Merc themselves if Merc is a WDC level team this year. Of course LH has proved himself in the past to be capable, but I think that when it all comes out in the wash Merc will have done very well if they can break into the top 3, but I think a strong 4th in the WCC is more likely. And that isn’t going to be enough for LH to win the WDC.

        I think we have to keep a few things in perspective. So far the qualifying and the races have had issues of drying tracks at some point that would have affected the results on either Saturday and/or Sunday.

        Let’s have a few weekends of consistant weather, and I predict the Mercs aren’t going to look nearly as strong as they have so far. On average the Red Bulls, the Ferraris, the Lotus’s, and eventually the Macs are going to be strong competitiion for Merc, so to give the nod to LH for WDC this year would be to say that one expects to see one of the most compelling stories of F1 in recent years, such would be the massive achievement LH/Merc will have achieved if in fact LH does as Stewart predicts.

  13. it may be naive, but I think F1 is actually helping the cause of the opposition in Bahrain. Every time they go there it’s news and it makes headlines and raises awareness, which increases pressure on the international community. otherwise Bahrain would have disappeared from the news and there’d be a lot less pressure for the international community to stop using them as pawn in the middle east.

  14. That video of Hamilton about the driver seat, is almost the same as from the Sauber. Which one was first? :)
    Useful info, keep them coming.

  15. Good to see F1 drivers played just like I did at 5! Just replace the F1 cars with Indy cars and you have my childhood right there.

  16. Sorry LAK got, distracted Happy Birthday:)

  17. Michael Brown (@)
    6th April 2013, 16:53

    We arrive at the Bahrain situation again. The protestors are just using the race to get attention, like the students who tried to protest the race in Montreal back in 2012. Personally, I’m on F1’s side: go to a track and race.

  18. Regarding your headline, that Bernie Ecclestone says he expects a trouble-free Bahrain in no wise is an indication of whether Bernie Ecclestone expects an trouble-free Bahrain.

  19. Michael Brown (@)
    6th April 2013, 20:15

    The protestors are using the F1 race to get publicity, and when F1 leaves everything goes quiet. Besides that, they barely get international attention.

  20. Thaank you @keithcollantine for the Birthday shout out and @Funkyf1 for your wishes!! Means a lot 😊 Haha it’s ok @Funkyf1 and expected :)

    A Bahrain row on the day of my Birthday how fitting lol! I was too busy celebrating just saw the round up. I’ll try to read though them and comment later on ;)

    1. Great to read you had a lovely day full of excitement @lak!

      1. Continue to enjoy your birthday, you’re not missing much :P

  21. Happy birthday @LAK – even if the wish is a bit late by now, I hope you had a very nice day :-)

  22. Bahrain is a total waste of time, circuits crap, the atmosphere is nil, there are next to no spectators, the scenery looks bland and somewhat creepy and although the Pirelli tyres will save the race, it looks like being yet another Red Bull borefest.

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