Violence marred Bahrain's controversial Grand Prix race as a fire bomb exploded near Force India team members and protesters clashed with police in the lead-up to the Formula One practice runs set to begin on Friday. Security has been beefed up ahead of Sunday's race, but the incident prompted F1 officials to reassure participants that, despite the violence, Bahrain was safe.
Speaking to reporters at the Sakhir circuit, chairman of the Formula One Grand Prix Drivers Association, Pedro de la Rosa, said safety is "not a concern." He added that he had full faith in the decision by the International Motoring Federation to hold the event despite mounting tensions in the kingdom.
Four members of the Force India team were stuck in traffic when a fire bomb exploded as they returned from the Sakhir circuit to their hotel late on Wednesday, Bahrain International Circuit chairman Zayed Alzayani told Autosport magazine. The four mechanics apparently got caught up in a clash between protesters and police on the main motor way from the capital Manama to Sakhir.
Nobody was injured. A spokesman for the Force India team confirmed the incident and said one team member, not involved in the incident, and a contractor hired by the team, had chosen to return home as a result of the blast. Alzayani played down the matter and said he would not request any tighter security as a result.
Bahrain's main opposition group, Al-Wefaq, has called for a week of daily protests to coincide with the Grand Prix, using the sports event to focus media attention on their long-standing demands for greater equality and representation in the Sunni-ruled kingdom. "There is a desire to take advantage of the presence of (international) press, normally barred from entering the country," said Bahraini rights activist Nabil Rajab.
Meanwhile, influential Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called for a boycott of the race over the kingdom's continued crackdown on dissidents. "I call on all honest sportsmen not to participate in that race ... and to support the Bahraini people in their rejection of holding this race," he said in a statement. The Bahrain Grand Prix was cancelled last year in the wake of a Shia-led uprising against the Sunni monarchy and the brutal government crackdown that followed in which a government commission said 35 people were killed.
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