Much like their drivers the bosses of the leading F1 teams have been loathe to get into any meaningful debate about Bahrain and the safety concerns of team personnel, even though members of the Force India and Sauber teams have both been close to incidents while travelling into the city.
At an FIA press conference today team bosses were clearly uncomfortable with ongoing questioning on the subject, although most did at least offer some responses.
“There have undoubtedly been difficult times here but from a pure team perspective, we’ve been comfortable with the situation,” said McLaren’s Martin Whitmarsh. “Clearly we race as an international sport all over the world and we have security concerns and issues at a number or races and we take that very seriously, and we’re cautious, and we try to take the right precautions. But ultimately we’re a race team. We’re here to go motor racing and that’s our number one priority.
“I think there is a lot of support for the race from all parts of society here, so I think that’s positive. Clearly often the majority aren’t heard on these occasions but I think there’s a fair amount of support, you can feel it here. I understand they’ve sold out the grandstand, so presumably that’s a tangible sign of support.”
Red Bull’s Christian Horner said: “Formula One is a sport at the end of the day and it’s wrong for it to be used politically. We’re here to race, we trust in the FIA, in the decisions that they made, and we’re comfortable with the decisions that they have made. For us, it’s about trying to extract the maximum from this weekend as a sporting team in a sporting championship. The calendar is obviously set by the FIA.
“I think the guys here have been very welcoming. They look after the teams very well and hopefully we can put on a good show on Sunday. I think at the end of the day it’s a sport, we’re a sporting team competing in a sport that competes at 20 venues around the world. We’ll do our best as we do in all of those other events to do the best job we can on Sunday.”
Ferrari’s Stefano Domenicali added: “You are speaking about security and I would say that we have received all the guarantees from the organisers, the federation, the embassy, and it is pretty clear at the moment that it is like that. We don’t seem to be the target of anyone that is protesting.
“We are here for the event that is racing, the race of the F1 World Championship and we are here to make the best of it. From a political point of view, the only thing I can is that there are a lot of things going on and we really hope that all the dialogue that has started within the different parts will do the best thing in the shortest time possible for everyone. This is really the hope that we have, as sportsmen and as a man of the world.”
Frustrated as the Bahrain questioning went on, Whitmarsh said: “Listen, I tell you, we’re at the start of a fantastic World Championship. There have been three outstanding races, and there’s a great championship ahead of us.
“We’ve had three different winners, it’s been a fantastic start to the championship and I think we can have a fantastic race here on Sunday. I don’t think that going into what’s happened over the last millennia or the politics around the world is something that most of us here are equipped to comment on.”
Norbert Haug of Mercedes meanwhile declined to make any signifcant contribution to the discussion.
Adam Cooper F1 
“I don’t think that going into what’s happened over the last millennia or the politics around the world is something that most of us here are equipped to comment on.” Exactly. You don’t ask F1 people these questions, they’re not Goethe or Kleist. Mademoiselle Walker definitely lives in a parallel universe.
I sometimes roll on the floor laughing after reading some of the questions asked “from the floor” during F1 press conferences. The most frustrating bit is that these dudes count themselves as pundits and have F1 accreditation, while mighty experts with real passion for the sport (not me) are left without access to the F1 world. Angrybird.
Gee, and I thought that having to consider the moral implications of one’s actions was simply an occupational hazard of being an adult…
It’s not about moral implications, the sport has nothing to do with Bahrain’s (wot from the outside looks like) civil war mess. F1 didn’t create it, so there’s nothing for F1 people to consider at all, apart from their own safety. The FIA and FOM are trying cover their “rear end” right now, these dudes should really feel sorry for endangering innocent team personnel’s lives.
F1 is light entertainment, a sport. We’ve nothing to do with politics whatsoever. Fighters for freedom and democracy live in CNN or BBC studios, they make a career out of it.
Besides, my comment was related to the basic style of F1 – asking MW questions about world history? You gotta be crazy!
I’m a simple guy; I go to work, I enjoy my cuppa coffee in the morning, I like to attend races and snap pics in me free time. Political or moral issues? Not my area, sorry. Ask people who create these issues.
I can slightly agree with you Iberian but I would also say that sociopolitical issues are very much a human one. They are more than equipped to talk about such things. It just wouldn’t be in their professional interest to do so :).
Hmm, from my experience with F1 people, I’d say they’re not equipped at all, maybe a couple of guys in the press office or marketing department who deal with multi-national VIP guest or sponsors – they can understand wot’s wot and who’s who.
I was spefically pointing out the bit about MW – he’s Ron’s disciple, he speaks Ronspeak. The guy can twist anything around, it’s his job. Kate was being a bit naive there, either that or trying to gain some popularity points in the blogosphere, F1 journos are not saints, they need to be popular to plug their stuff=make some cash. The basic law of life. Having said that, I respect wot F1 journos do; maybe Seaweed by Tony Fernandes is a bit too obvious, but if I were him I’d sell out too, at his age it’s natural. Even German romantic writers sold out when they got older.
Now that the race on Sunday seems inevitable, wouldn’t it be nice if all the drivers and teams gathered on the grid before the start for a minutes silence to honour those who have died under the actions of this brutal and oppressive regime. And maybe one of our world champions could really ‘man up’ and go and visit the dying hunger striker Al Khawaja in hospital. Think of the good that would do? But then, they probably don’t know he exists…
We live now in an information age, and we can see exactly what’s going on and where it is going on, minute by minute via twitter etc; (just tweet ‘Bahrain’ folks) – so for participants who tweet each other all day long to say publicly they are just there for the racing now and plead ignorance, well it just beggars belief…
I’ve played at least four concerts in Bahrain during my career, and now my conscience is heavy too, for though it was a long time ago, some of these current regime elements may well have been supported by my little shows. If so, then i am truly sorry for what i have done, and pray for those innocent Bahrainis I’ve affected….
This is a big chance for F1 to jump out of the fire, do something a bit more meaningful than road safety campaigning, and win itself a whole new audience in the process. A minute’s silence by the drivers and teams on the grid, just like they have done in the past when visiting any country that’s suffered a disaster. Not much to ask? ….or is it?
Perhaps not much, but still TOO much, evidently.
Thanks for the comment Leo, alas I think it would be a step too far for F1 to do that, everyone is terrified of getting involved in any meaningful way. Drivers wouldn’t express concern for their own guys even if they felt it
Well what do w know. We think the pictures we see on tely is the trouth and the only trouth. I live in Denmark a very quiet country but we have a location where people fight the police very often, put fire on dustbins etc. If a forign tv station came and recorded that and said this is Denmark anybody not knowing the rest would belive it was so in Denmark. Yes I know they die in Bharain but so do they do in China, Turkey. In Syriah a geneside but do we do anything. But should F1?