Bernie Ecclestone has assured protesters in Bahrain that he understands their grievances and is willing to meet opposition figures ahead of the most controversial F1 race of the year this weekend.
“I’m happy to talk to anybody about this, as I did before,” the F1 commercial supremo said in comments to British reporters published yesterday, mentioning that he had met members of the opposition group al-Wefaq last year in London and Bahrain.
“We don’t want to see trouble. We don’t want to see people arguing and fighting about things we don’t understand, because we really don’t understand... Some people feel it’s our fault there are problems.”
The 82-year-old British billionaire has said repeatedly that he has no cause for concern ahead of a race that had to be cancelled in 2011 after an uprising and bloody government crackdown and that went ahead last year against a backdrop of petrol bombs and teargas.
If some of his past comments have made light of the unrest, he made clear this time that he understood both sides of the argument and was not insensitive to the opposition.
“We are extremely sympathetic to them,” he said.
“Don’t forget, I was the one, when we had the apartheid in South Africa, who pulled the race.”
Formula One personnel and race drivers have begun arriving in Bahrain after the weekend’s grand prix in Shanghai, with protests picking up as the fourth race of the season approaches.
The local Gulf Daily News reported four explosions, including one in Manama’s financial centre, on Sunday night with one caused by a gas cylinder placed in a stolen car in the Bahrain Financial Harbour parking area.
A radical opposition group, the Coalition of February 14 Youth, claimed responsibility and warned it would continue similar ‘operations’.
The computer hacker group Anonymous has threatened to target the official Formula One and Bahrain Grand Prix websites.
Watched by many millions around the world, the grand prix puts Bahrain in the global spotlight – as well as some $40 million in the F1 coffers in annual hosting fees – and authorities are keen to use it to showcase the country.
It also gives opponents an opportunity to highlight their grievances.
Pirelli tyres
Formula One tyre suppliers Pirelli have decided against using their soft tyres at this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix after concern about how quickly they wear out.
A spokeswoman said the decision was made after last month’s Malaysian Grand Prix, where the track is similar in characteristics to Bahrain, to bring the hard and medium compounds rather than hard and soft.
The medium and soft options were used in China last weekend, with some drivers doing the minimum number of laps in the faster but far less durable softs.
Seven laps in the race, won by Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, was the longest anyone did on soft tyres.