Bernie Ecclestone Will Not Force Teams to Race in Bahrain

Bernie Ecclestone will not force Formula 1 teams to race at the Bahrain Grand Prix if they do not want to. 

"If the teams don't want to go, then we cannot make them," said Ecclestone.

The decision to cancel the race can only be made by three parties: the FIA, event organizers or the Crown Prince of Bahrain. It is unlikely that either event organizers or the Crown Prince would decide to cancel the race for a second time in two years. The leaves the decision in the hands of the FIA who says that it is keeping track of the political situation within the country.

John Yates who was formerly assistant commissioner of the London Metropolitan Police now works in the Bahrain Interior Ministry and is threatening to keep protesters away during the race. 

"Anyone who invades the circuit is putting themselves in danger, putting the drivers in danger, putting potentially other spectators in danger. That will be clamped down on and properly so," said Yates.

Protests in Bahrain have been becoming more violent. On Monday a bomb detonated in Manama that injured seven police officers. Protester Abdulhadi Alkhawaja has been in prison staging a hunger strike for the last two months. 

Source: Autosport