Bahrain - What a rubbish place to start a Championship!

P_Friesacher · Post by **P_Friesacher** » 02 Mar 2011, 16:41

Could still be fun, though. The circuit is currently under about a foot of snow as a just read on another forum.

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 02 Mar 2011, 17:29

Is GP2 Asia the most rejectful "proper" racing series of them all? Really, what is the point of a "series" that was only three rounds over two venues, which has now been cut to two rounds in two venues, only one of which is in Asia? If it mirrored the Asian rounds of the F1 calendar - South Korea, Japan, Abu Dhabi and now India as well, went to (say) Dubai and Qatar over the F1 close season and finished with Bahrain (cancellation notwithstanding) and Malaysia, then despite the overwhelming Tilke-drome-ness of the circuits, it'd still be a proper series where the champion would actually have something to be proud of. What is going to come of being 2011 GP2 Asia Series champion? Very little, I suspect.

Yannick · Post by **Yannick** » 02 Mar 2011, 20:56

There are many circuits available in Asia for GP2 Asia to run on:

Ordos, Guangdong, Shanghai, Zhuhai, Sepang, Sentul, Istambul Park, Sakhir, Dubai, Losail, plus all of the Japanese tracks.

Why are they limiting themselves to just 2 circuits? Travel costs?

P_Friesacher · Post by **P_Friesacher** » 02 Mar 2011, 23:03

dinizintheoven wrote:What is going to come of being 2011 GP2 Asia Series champion? Very little, I suspect.

*cough*
Edit: Oops, sorry. Hadn't realized you had sepcified "2011 GP2 Asia champion". Still: Being allowed to carry the same title Kobayashi once won - that must be quite an honour!

Yannick wrote:Why are they limiting themselves to just 2 circuits? Travel costs?

This season I believe that, yes, it's travel costs. And the uncertainty about how the new car would perform. As far as I'm aware they are planning to have more races again next season. For subscribers of Autosport (which, sadly, I'm not, due to financial constraints) there is supposed to be an article about this in the current issue (at least that's what they say on their homepage).

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 03 Mar 2011, 11:11

If they want a serious series, yes, then they must travel to other circuits. What I never figured out was why they didn't gone as a supporting series for all F1 races in Asia? Like the European GP2? F1 has Bahrain (well, sort of), Australia (since they joined the Asian Cup Football Championship, they can count as Asia in here too), China, Abu Dhabi, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, India. Those are 9 venues that can do a good series. They have different teams in both series (it is not what is happening now) and if teams can afford (they can ship their stuff with F1 material to stay less expensive) do both series. Drivers can be shared between them, as they usually are. How hard can it be?

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 15 Mar 2011, 13:34

It appears that Bahrain is gone for this season. And perhaps gone for a few seasons too:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/89944

It is done.

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 15 Mar 2011, 14:36

I was thinking about this, what happens if Bahrain ends up with a new government/ruler/whatever? Are they as likely to be enthusiastic about the GP? I highly doubt it so the way I see it is that if the Crown Prince maintains his position, F1 might end up going back at some point, but a change in rulership could spell the end of the race for the considerable longer term as appetite for the race drops considerably.

fjackdaw · Post by **fjackdaw** » 15 Mar 2011, 14:48

With all the awful things going on in Japan at the moment, including three potential nuclear meltdowns, I wonder if we might lose that GP too. That would be the least of anyone's worries in that area, and should be the least of F1 fans' worries too, but purely on the subject of race cancellations it's a possibility.

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 15 Mar 2011, 15:12

Well the MotoGP round, which is normally around April, has been postponed, and is likely to be reschedueled for October, which if I'm correct is around the same time that F1 go there?

Whilst not to this extent, the '95 Kobe Earthquake didn't stop F1, it just delayed the Pacific GP round didn't it?

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 15 Mar 2011, 15:32

fjackdaw wrote:With all the awful things going on in Japan at the moment, including three potential nuclear meltdowns...

...which won't happen. Stop the panic. Not that this is going to stop the Daily Mail, which has run a huge "MELTDOWN" headline.

AndreaModa wrote:Whilst not to this extent, the '95 Kobe Earthquake didn't stop F1, it just delayed the Pacific GP round didn't it?

Correct. It was due to be in April, if I remember rightly, it ended up next to the (actual) Japanese GP in the calendar, which gave us that bit of trivia about Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill winning two consecutive GPs that were held in the same country.

Post by **mario** » 15 Mar 2011, 16:52

dinizintheoven wrote:
fjackdaw wrote:With all the awful things going on in Japan at the moment, including three potential nuclear meltdowns...

...which won't happen. Stop the panic. Not that this is going to stop the Daily Mail, which has run a huge "MELTDOWN" headline.

AndreaModa wrote:Whilst not to this extent, the '95 Kobe Earthquake didn't stop F1, it just delayed the Pacific GP round didn't it?

Correct. It was due to be in April, if I remember rightly, it ended up next to the (actual) Japanese GP in the calendar, which gave us that bit of trivia about Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill winning two consecutive GPs that were held in the same country.

Whilst there may not be a nuclear meltdown occurring at the moment, the Japanese economy seems to be in meltdown, though.

And the effect on nuclear energy elsewhere is already being felt - in Germany, the government has announced that it will be temporarily shutting down seven of its 17 nuclear power plants (those built before 1980) for safety checks. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12745899
Now, the risk of seismic activity in Germany is low, as you might imagine, and the German nuclear industry has a pretty good safety record. Nevertheless, nuclear power has always been a particularly sore point of contention in Germany, so I can imagine that if the government had not done anything, it could well have faced renewed protests for agreeing to extend the life of their nuclear power plants.

But that is another, potentially much more thorny and intractable matter that will rumble on for much longer. It does seem somewhat churlish to ask about the race amidst such devastation, although the fiscal stimulus that the race could well bring will be sorely needed at this time.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 15 Mar 2011, 18:09

So Suzuka and Fuji have survived the earthquake and could host the race?

Rocks with Salt · Post by **Rocks with Salt** » 15 Mar 2011, 18:46

I think this webcomic sums it up nicely. Despite the magnitude of the situation, the Japanese culture is known for its ability to adhere to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy's first and most important rule: DON'T PANIC. I expect there to be a Japanese GP by October with no problems, and I expect Kobayashi to... well, draw your own conclusions there.

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 28 Apr 2011, 12:24

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/90969

So Bernie is clinging on the millions of the Barhainis even though we are near the deadline and safety over there is still precarious. Will they keep receiving "a couple more weeks" until the season is actually over? Will Bernie force a non-championship race just to eke out a few more bucks?

Bernie wrote:Things can change in a couple of weeks...so you don't know. All of a sudden everything might be peaceful in a month's time and they are happy to run the event and so we are happy to be there.

Sure, you are happy to be there. How about the others?

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 28 Apr 2011, 15:46

But the 2011 Bahraini GP took place! Without upsetting anybody! We have a discussion thread on everything that happened in the race that weekend! Bernie, just give up and realise that IT HAPPENED.

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 28 Apr 2011, 16:15

dr-baker wrote:But the 2011 Bahraini GP took place! Without upsetting anybody! We have a discussion thread on everything that happened in the race that weekend! Bernie, just give up and realise that IT HAPPENED.

That was THE best race Barhain will ever see!

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 28 Apr 2011, 16:23

DanielPT wrote:
dr-baker wrote:But the 2011 Bahraini GP took place! Without upsetting anybody! We have a discussion thread on everything that happened in the race that weekend! Bernie, just give up and realise that IT HAPPENED.

That was THE best race Barhain will ever see!

I know! So why on earth does Bernie want to rehost it? It won't be anything like that one. Nothing could ever compare to that race. Unless HWNSNBM were to win it, of course. In an USF1 in conjuction with Stefan GP. Sponsored by Andrea Moda.

Yannick · Post by **Yannick** » 28 Apr 2011, 17:12

2011 seems like a bad season for Bernie. First, the Bahrain GP had to be cancelled and it looks like it won't be able to return at a later date. Next, the Japanese earthquake looks likely to cause low ticket sales for Suzuka. And now, his involvement in the dealings of Gerhard Gribkowsky is under scrutiny from German law officials, whilst rumours abound that Rupert Murdoch is interested in buying F1.
It all seems like Bernie's bid for the prestigious "Reject Of the Year" award is a much stronger one this season than in previous years. Yet, it is still somewhat likely that one of the drivers will save Bernie from receiving the honours as long as, well, as long as the court case ends favourably for him.

Post by **Londoner** » 28 Apr 2011, 17:23

Yannick wrote:2011 seems like a bad season for Bernie. First, the Bahrain GP had to be cancelled and it looks like it won't be able to return at a later date. Next, the Japanese earthquake looks likely to cause low ticket sales for Suzuka. And now, his involvement in the dealings of Gerhard Gribkowsky is under scrutiny from German law officials, whilst rumours abound that Rupert Murdoch is interested in buying F1.
It all seems like Bernie's bid for the prestigious "Reject Of the Year" award is a much stronger one this season than in previous years. Yet, it is still somewhat likely that one of the drivers will save Bernie from receiving the honours as long as, well, as long as the court case ends favourably for him.

Go home, Pastor Maldonado! :lol:

In all seriousness, how much more of a heartless bathplug can he get. People have suffered greatly there over the last few months, and running the GP there just placates the rulers of Bahrain. And anyway, isn't it the FIA's job to decide if the race goes ahead, not FOM and Bernie? He really wants 20 paychecks rather than 19.

Post by **mario** » 28 Apr 2011, 19:53

East Londoner wrote:
Yannick wrote:2011 seems like a bad season for Bernie. First, the Bahrain GP had to be cancelled and it looks like it won't be able to return at a later date. Next, the Japanese earthquake looks likely to cause low ticket sales for Suzuka. And now, his involvement in the dealings of Gerhard Gribkowsky is under scrutiny from German law officials, whilst rumours abound that Rupert Murdoch is interested in buying F1.
It all seems like Bernie's bid for the prestigious "Reject Of the Year" award is a much stronger one this season than in previous years. Yet, it is still somewhat likely that one of the drivers will save Bernie from receiving the honours as long as, well, as long as the court case ends favourably for him.

Go home, Pastor Maldonado!

In all seriousness, how much more of a heartless bathplug can he get. People have suffered greatly there over the last few months, and running the GP there just placates the rulers of Bahrain. And anyway, isn't it the FIA's job to decide if the race goes ahead, not FOM and Bernie? He really wants 20 paychecks rather than 19.

You forgot to mention that Bernie has been interviewed by German tax inspectors over Gribowsky's involvement with FOM, which must have been an uncomfortable meeting. Moreover, there are rumours circulating in the German press that Bernie claimed to the German authorities that Gribowsky was blackmailing him, although over what is unspecified.
Since Bernie has not yet refuted the allegations, to the best of my knowledge, and Gribowsky is not willing to co-operate with the German authorities, it has kick started a fair bit of speculation about what could Gribowsky have found that was worth paying $50 million to silence him. Gribowsky would have had a lot of access to the accounts and documentation of FOM and the assorted companies that have formed part of Bernie's business interests, so the speculation is that Gribowsky uncovered some dodgy financial dealing and Bernie has bribed him to stay silent.

Of course, there is nothing of substance to back up the rumours, but just their mere presence will be making CVC nervous - their corporate investors are highly respected financial institutions, so any rumours of financial impropriety would be toxic to their reputation, and day to day dealing.

Post by **tommykl** » 29 Apr 2011, 06:03

Gribowsky probably discovered replays of full F1 races and threatened to post them on YouTube.

JohnMLTX · Post by **JohnMLTX** » 01 May 2011, 20:21

May 1st is upon us, and I'ven't seen any decision on the running of the "real" Bahrain Grand Prix. Is it safe to assume it's been officially canned for this year?

watka · Post by **watka** » 01 May 2011, 21:00

I believe that there is some hint of an extension to the deadline. Read this: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/91016

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 02 May 2011, 11:34

watka wrote:I believe that there is some hint of an extension to the deadline. Read this: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/91016

Ecclestone wrote:In eight years with my relationship with Bahrain I have always been confident that they will produce something special.

Does this means that he still hopes Bahrain to produce a mildly exciting race?

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 02 May 2011, 11:37

DanielPT wrote:
watka wrote:I believe that there is some hint of an extension to the deadline. Read this: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/91016

Ecclestone wrote:In eight years with my relationship with Bahrain I have always been confident that they will produce something special.

Does this means that he still hopes Bahrain to produce a mildly exciting race?

Bahrain did produce an exciting race this season and yet it was STILL the most boring race so far this season.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 02 May 2011, 13:34

According to the BBC, a decision will be made in the "next few hours," i.e. by Tuesday morning.

Post by **Londoner** » 02 May 2011, 22:18

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2011/05/02/fia-bahrain-onemonth-extension-decide-race/

Looks like Ecclestone convinced the FIA to give an extra month. Bathplug.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 03 May 2011, 19:15

East Londoner wrote:http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2011/05/02/fia-bahrain-onemonth-extension-decide-race/

Looks like Ecclestone convinced the FIA to give an extra month. Bathplug.

Exactly.

Bathplug. On a website where the word is used as a substitute for a word that sounds like duck.

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 04 May 2011, 09:58

East Londoner wrote:http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2011/05/02/fia-bahrain-onemonth-extension-decide-race/

Looks like Ecclestone convinced the FIA to give an extra month. Bathplug.

It was already expected by now. Bernie is still trying to milk the cow the best he can. Let's just hope that this is the final extension. We don't need another debacle about F1 lack of morals.

The Bahrain leaders are evil (:evil:), Bernie. They've killed many of their own...

Myrvold · Post by **Myrvold** » 04 May 2011, 16:17

DanielPT wrote:The Bahrain leaders are evil (:evil:), Bernie. They've killed many of their own...

And so have China. And many means USA have done the same (No, I do not want to discuss about that in this forum, just trying to make a point). Many other countries as well. Even though there are politics in F1, and F1 does have some limited politcal power, that shouldn't stop F1 from racing in whatever country as long as it is safe for the teams (the employees)

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 04 May 2011, 16:29

Myrvold wrote:
DanielPT wrote:The Bahrain leaders are evil (:evil:), Bernie. They've killed many of their own...

And so have China. And many means USA have done the same (No, I do not want to discuss about that in this forum, just trying to make a point). Many other countries as well. Even though there are politics in F1, and F1 does have some limited political power, that shouldn't stop F1 from racing in whatever country as long as it is safe for the teams (the employees)

Yes, you are absolutely right. But I forgot to mention that this comes from the implicit list the western civilization has of the evil regimes with whom is not ok to make business. China has an evil regime, but it is ok to make business with them. Bahrain and Libya are not ok at the moment. Saudi Arabia also kill people of their own, but they are nice business pals and quite friendly to us, so it is ok to make business with them. On the other side, North Korea are enemies of our friends, don't have a relevant resource or don't want to share it, have little strategic relevance, are quite weak economically and the media don't like them so it is absolutely not ok to make business with them.

Post by **Londoner** » 19 May 2011, 07:10

http://www.gulfweekly.com/articles.aspx?articleid=27047
Got this link off F1 Fanatic... :roll:

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 19 May 2011, 09:05

East Londoner wrote:http://www.gulfweekly.com/articles.aspx?articleid=27047
Got this link off F1 Fanatic...

They can't be serious...

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 19 May 2011, 11:12

And now the FIA is considering pushing the Indian GP back to December to try and fit the Bahrain GP in. I would tell Bernie and co to go home right now but that is reserved for Rupert Murdoch.

the Masked Lapwing · Post by **the Masked Lapwing** » 19 May 2011, 12:00

Wizzie wrote:And now the FIA is considering pushing the Indian GP back to December to try and fit the Bahrain GP in. I would tell Bernie and co to go home right now but that is reserved for Rupert Murdoch.

Go home Bernie and co.

That better?

Cynon · Post by **Cynon** » 19 May 2011, 15:07

This makes no sense at all... why mess with the Indian GP? Why wouldn't Bahrain shoot for the Dec. 4 date?

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 19 May 2011, 15:16

Cynon wrote:This makes no sense at all... why mess with the Indian GP? Why wouldn't Bahrain shoot for the Dec. 4 date?

Besides being idiots the only other possible explanation that comes to my mind is that they fear preparations for the Indian GP are running late and while they find a date for the Bahrain and do the race they also prevent any possible trouble with the Indian GP killing two birds with one stone.

Post by **Londoner** » 28 May 2011, 14:58

India might be moved even further back. They better bloody not.

http://adamcooperf1.com/2011/05/27/4114/

mediocre · Post by **mediocre** » 28 May 2011, 15:09

According to German site Motorsport-Total.com, some Human Rights Organization has adviced the FIA and FOTA not to go to Bahrain but to "respect" that civil rights were not watched in that country. Therefore, F1 shouldn't go to Bahrain.

Source (German): http://www.motorsport-total.com/f1/news ... 52720.html

golic_2004 · Post by **golic_2004** » 31 May 2011, 11:53

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/91911

Mostly about Bahrain in place of India and India going to December...Brawn says it is unacceptable. We F1 fans could live without Bahrain for a year.