F1: Bahrain GP off - final answer

The organisers of the Bahrain Grand Prix have told the FIA that they are withdrawing their event from this year's Formula One Championship. That is less than a week after the FIA surprised everyone by announcing that the race had been re-instated, would take place in October and that the Indian Grand Prix would be held sometime in December.

Teams were outwardly annoyed, internally incensed. Fans were less subtle, especially those who had made plans to travel to Bombay/Mumbai for the first ever F1 race in India.

Apparently, the decision to restore Bahrain the race to this year's calendar was taken "in a spirit of reconciliation," the plan, simply, being that, if the locals saw normality returning, they would start to behave normally. Instead, a back-lash by pressure groups alleging (in some cases showing films appearing to prove) abuse by military and other government forces and agencies.

In truth, the uprising in Bahrain is not even close to those in Tunisia and Egypt. Of course, any number of dead is not acceptable, but there are degrees of unacceptability and 31 - compared to, say, Libya's hundreds - seems at the lower end of awfulness. However, there are reportedly hundreds in jail without trial, many of whom have been abused in one of several ways. But the most damaging is this: one of the reasons that the Bahrain race could not go ahead was that Bahrain's medical profession was all-hands-on deck to work in hospitals dealing with the aftermath of the original outbreak of violence. But in the past few days, reports say, the government has begun the trials of those who treated protesters. Worse still is that the trials are being held in secret.

But the statement from the Bahrain International Circuit was spun as a positive: they did not, they said, want to inject their event into the remaining part of the season and cause inconvenience to fans, teams and their families. "Bahrain has absolutely no desire to see a race which would further extend the calendar season detract from the enjoyment of F1 for either drivers, teams or supporters. We want our role in Formula One to continue to be as positive and constructive as it has always been, therefore, in the best interest of the sport, we will not pursue the rescheduling of a race this season." said BIC chairman Zayed R. Alzayani in a statement yesterday.

The week has demonstrated something neither the FIA nor Bernie Ecclestone wanted to see: all teams worked in concert. On Monday, the day after the original announcement, the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) wrote a letter that the teams did not publish. But the broad thrust was obvious: they did not agree to the FIA's plans. The FIA asked Ecclestone to come up with an alternative. FOTA dismissed that, too. It is also known that some drivers were privately (and some not so privately) opposed to the holding of the Bahrain GP while the unrest - and rights issues - continued. On Thursday, the FIA and Bernie gave in and told the Circuit that they had a serious problem. The cosy wording was produced so as to save face for the FIA and Ecclestone who, for the first time in a long time, have lost a fight with the teams and/or the drivers.

FOTA's win was unexpected: Bahrain is F1's most profitable race, say some. It seems that, this time, money did not talk. Consciences did.