In April, Formula 1 was on a collision course with disaster. Protests in Bahrain, which started in February last year, had escalated and specifically mentioned the Grand Prix as a target of potentially violent demonstrations.
Molotov cocktails were being thrown, demonstrators arrested and doctors put on trial for treating the injured.
Formula 1 stood uneasily defiant. The sports head, Bernie Ecclestone, assured the watching world that the sport would be there while the teams and auxiliary staff, stood sheepishly silent.
Only Mark Webber spoke out in opposition as media interest in the event grew.
Security was beefed up while teams were in the Gulf State, though Sauber and Force India mechanics found themselves involved in a fracas as they left the circuit one evening. Force India chose not to take part in the second practice on Friday as its own form of silent protest, a stance the commercial rights holder appeared to punish by affording them no television time during qualifying.
Otherwise the race went off without a hitch, plumes of smoke on the horizon were the only indications that, just below the façade seen on television, Bahrain was in a state of unrest.
It remains so, though media interest has since dwindled.
Now in Canada we face the prospect of protests impacting Formula 1 once more. It’d be the second time this season and while protestors in Montreal are nothing like those seen in Bahrain the Grand Prix has once again been specifically mentioned as a target for demonstrators.
Unrest began when the Canadian government announced its intention to raise tertiary education fees by 70 percent over the next five years. Understandably this generated a response from students, who began protesting.
The government, in an attempt to disarm the escalating protests, introduced a number of emergency laws – outlawing unauthorised gatherings and the right to wear masks – which had quite the opposite effect.
Activities have grown from simple student protests to an outright assault on the capitalists that ruin the Canadian economy, it seems. The education changes simply the straw that broke the camels back.
Some activist bodies have singled out this weekends Canadian Grand Prix as a target for protests. As in Bahrain the global nature of the sport, and the intense media interest it attracts, provide a tantalising opportunity for demonstrators to get their message to a broad audience. Internet activist group Anonymous has also been involved.
During the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend Anonymous was involved in bringing down the sports official website as well as that of the sports governing body, the FIA. In Canada the group hacked a ticketing website, publishing details of 100 people online as well as sending them threatening emails, which the Police are investigating.
By its very nature Formula One is an attractive platform for those seeking to gain worldwide publicity. Our televisions, newspapers, websites and magazines are bombarded with imagery of the sport and the sponsors logos that adorn the car. The reason sponsors get involved is the same reason why activists look to exploit the sport for their own benefits.
In Bahrain the sport dodged a bullet. Protests were violent and oppression of the civilian population evident yet the sport visited the country despite these concerns. The media roasted the sports over hot coals because of its failure to take a stance, but ultimately the race went off without a hitch. It was a calculated risk that didn’t backfire.
Realistically the sport had no choice but to go. Had it abandoned the race as a result of protestors threats it would have created a precedent. It would show the sport to be weak in the face of resistance and give rise to any nay-sayers or those looking to exploit the event for their own gain.
In 2011 it had the decision made for it when the Bahrani Crown Prince, also the owner of the Sakhir circuit and promoter of the Grand Prix, asked Formula One not to come. The sport was given an easy out and was not forced to make a decision.
In 2012 it also failed to make a decision, and in doing so decided to race. Had it not Formula 1’s financial future could have been put in doubt.
It would have given other promoters a precedent in skipping out of their responsibilities (Formula One Management waived Bahrain’s race fee in 2011) and would have knocked the confidence of sponsors.
Maintaining confidence and a steady income is crucial to Formula 1’s future. It has billions of dollars of assured revenue over the coming years as it locks in long-term contracts with race promoters globally. On the back of that it can lure sponsors, who can finance the teams and sell television rights for a mint.
Formula 1 had to stand firm in Bahrain and put at risk those it was trying to protect. It was a calculated risk, but had it buckled one can only imagine what long term damage would have been done to the sport.
That is why the show will go on in Canada in face of the opposition, and why it has to put its conscience aside when faced with such threats.
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