Bahrain GP to Hurt F1, Says Mosley

Following several months of uncertainty, caused by the political and social unrest in a number of countries in the Middle East, a decision regarding the 2011 status of the Bahrain GP has been made on Friday by the FIA. A decision that, although expected, given Bernie Ecclestone's passion for the Sakhir circuit, has caused a wave of criticism coming from both former and present marking figures of the sport, and from the drivers themselves.

The most fierce combatant of the decision made on Friday by the FIA is its former boss, Max Mosley, who stepped up and expressed his disapproval, adding that the decision, “as is,” will hurt Formula 1 rather than help it. And not necessarily because of the prolonged calendar, but also because the sport will tie its image to a government that “carried out horrific acts.”

"By agreeing to race there, Formula 1 becomes complicit in what has happened. It becomes one of the Bahrain government's instruments of repression. The decision to hold the race is a mistake which will not be forgotten and, if not reversed, will eventually cost Formula 1 dear," Mosley said in a personal column posted in the Daily Telegraph.

"If a sport accepts this role, it becomes a tool of government. If Formula 1 allows itself to be used in this way in Bahrain, it will share the regime's guilt as surely as if it went out and helped brutalise unarmed protesters."

As announced by the FIA on Friday, the Bahrain race has been scheduled for October 30replacing the Indian Grand Prix. The inaugural race in India has now been pushed to December.