Bahrain Grand Prix organizers accepted the cancellation of their postponed Formula One race on Thursday after teams objected to it being rescheduled in October.
Guardian:
Ugly saga of Bahrain race exposes F1's web of tangled morals
Formula One is not devoid of people who know right from wrong but they appear to have no voice.Awkward position of Formula OneWhen the final decision came on the fate of the 2011 Bahrain Grand Prix, it was certainly the right one. And although it may have been reached for all the wrong reasons, including logistical inconvenience and sheer embarrassment, it yielded an unexpected bonus: a couple of weeks in which the world could take a close look at the tangled moral universe of Formula One.
The episode concluded with seeming chaos at the highest level, where Jean Todt, president of the FIA, the world governing body, was outflanked by Bernie Ecclestone, representing the holders of Formula One’s commercial rights, whose sudden declaration that the race could not take place once again demonstrated his mastery of the ideological handbrake turn.
Teams and drivers took line that "we are a sport and not political"; examples: "
was the gist of what Christian Horner, the Red Bull team director, said in his little media scrum. And what both he and Monisha Kaltenborn, the chief executive of the Sauber team, said in her press scrum was that they would not reveal the details of what the Formula One Teams Association discussed on Bahrain. When asked if moral, political issues were discussed, they responded that they discussed all sorts of topics and presented the consensus conclusion to Bernie Ecclestone in a letter.
In other words, they want to keep well away from speaking with the media on the details of what were discussed and why they do not want to go to Bahrain."
and
"Pastor Maldonado: OK, let’s wait for the FOTA decision. I think we are drivers who enjoy racing. For sure it’s a difficult time there but I think we need to wait and see what they decide."
From the comments of said article:
Mo
Granville, OH
June 10th, 2011
11:53 am
What about Mark Webber? It sounded like he had moral objections to going to Bahrain, and I would have hoped that other drivers/teams would be concerned at the message that supporting a government that attacks its own people would send. I agree that sport and politics are separate, but only up to a point. Few countries are actually in the midst of a revolution, and that seems reason enough to make an exception.
Brad Spurgeon[author of the NYT F1 blog]
Paris
June 10th, 2011
3:27 pm
Yes, last week Webber did speak out against it. I mentioned that in an earlier post.
Michael Brodkorb, Senate Republican spokesman, updates reporters outside the governor's office Thursday, June 30, 2011 in St. Paul, Minn., where negotiations between Republican lawmakers and Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton continued throughout the day in efforts to come to a budget agreement to avoid a government shutdown at midnight.
Mike Jones of the PCS union moves placards in preparation for tomorrows strike.
Current gas production is currently close to production in the early 1970s. However, it takes up to five times as many wells to be drilled now to produce the equivalent amount of gas [editor].
http://afroaddis.wordpress.com/2011/02/27/gaddafi-net-worth-is-32-billion-dollars-junior-spent-2-million-in-one-day-on-superstar-beyonce/
