Once again, this week has had politics mixing with sport. You may remember back when I started the blog, that I believed these two different industries should be kept separate. However, the way the world now operates makes that an incredibly difficult task. The sporting world is a business in its own right and subsequently, it becomes embroiled within the political connotations that money and power bring. The world of Formula 1 is arguably one of the most financially lucrative and is always looking to expand and utilise opportunities to increase its stature globally. However, the persistence and desire to race this weekend in Bahrain, despite its continual civil unrest, I believe is a poorly-made decision by the FIA.
Thankfully, it appears that the race has passed without any protests that have led to the lives of individuals involved becoming endangered. Yet, after both Force India and Sauber employees were caught up in violent action earlier in the week, there is a strong argument to suggest the race should never have been held anyway. My personal view is that by the time the teams had touched down in Bahrain, the race really needed to happen. However, it should have been called off a long time ago, as I struggle to see how the situation surrounding the country is any better compared to twelve months ago. Unfortunately, no individual seemed to take responsibility for the whole affair, with the buck being passed from the FIA to the teams, to Bernie Ecclestone. The poor drivers conducted themselves excellently though, and went out just to do their job. Whilst the team of Force India took the decision to avoid a practice session so all their team members would be back at their hotel before nightfall, such was the disturbance and shock brought to the whole the group following the petrol bomb that landed dangerously close to certain officials in the lead up to the race.
These incidents should not have been occurring though. The poor excuse and reasoning of the race pulling the country together was brought out, but that was a pathetic and incredibly inaccurate argument. If nothing else, the presence of some of the wealthiest sporting operators was able to provide the protestors and anarchists the opportunity to express their views on the way their country is being ran. It offered the chance to demonstrate their views and beliefs and raise the terror by causing more riots and disruption in front of the world’s media. If anything it provided the opponents to bridge their differences even further apart rather than unite them under the stewardship of sport. This therefore has put F1 in the firing line from political leaders who believe their presence has helped inflame the situation and therefore, should have looked more carefully on the situation surrounding the country. Instead it appears the governing body have permitted everything to go ahead with the hope that things are not so bad, that the matters can be ignored, and just generally adopting a blinkers-on approach. Well, it is pretty obvious now that that has failed. I would be amazed if the authorities now believe they can justify keeping the race on the calendar for future seasons, at least until the trouble and unrest in the country subsides.
It is a shame that this week the build-up and furore around the race has been about the events happening off the track because currently the state of F1 makes it wide open and extremely interesting to the watching public. From the opening four races, there have been four different winners, with teams having varied success at different tracks. Unlike last season where Red Bull just stormed away with the drivers and constructors championships, this year it looks like it could be incredibly exciting, with the lead changing constantly. Yet, because of the situation surrounding the race, few Bahrain citizens got to witness the action live, with grandstands far from full. These people were well aware that there were more important things to prioritise currently; it’s just unfortunate that the sporting authorities also couldn’t see the same problems.
What the incidents of the past week have taught me is that I need to change my stance on the political involvement within sport. Naturally, all sport has its own internal politics. However, now, it is impossible to get away from the fact that world politics are also liable in changing the situation surrounding sporting events. It was always my belief that the two needed to be kept separate, but that is now unrealistic in the current day and age. Sport has previously been utilised as a political tool, and not always a positive one, but authorities have tried to detach themselves from the association with one another. Nowadays though, with the heightened media coverage around and the boom in social networking, news will be spread instantly, causing the sectors of sport and politics to overlap like never before. With Bahrain offering the ultimate extremes with civil unrest and the mega-rich motoring giants being together, there always seemed to be an opportunity for those wishing to make a stand to take advantage of it. There has been at least one death in the disturbance this week, and thankfully, all involved in F1 seem to have got through it unscathed. I have no doubts that they will all be glad to have this race over with and move on to Europe in two weeks time.
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