Has the domino effect begun?

For a year now, Bahrain has been rocked by protests as the Shia population of the Kingdom strive for greater political freedom. These protests, some violent as protesters clash with the police, have resulted in casualties for both civilians and policemen alike and subsequently saw the 2011 Bahrain Grand Prix canceled.

This weekend, Formula 1, GP2 and Porsche Supercup teams’ are traveling to Bahrain to take part in the 2012 running of the event, in highly controversial circumstances. With violence still ongoing in Bahrain, questions are constantly being raised regarding the safety and security of the Grand Prix paddock, with threats that the various team sponsors will pull the plug on providing hospitality during the weekend.

Only days before practice for the weekend begins, Porsche Supercup team MRS have withdrawn from the weekends proceedings, with fears regarding safety the main reason for their premature departure.

"It is the first time in our team history that we have had to cancel a race of the Porsche Supercup," explained MRS Team Chief, Karsten Molitor. "In the end we have the responsibility for our employees. The race in Bahrain is for us one of the season highlights, therefore it was not easy to come to a decision. According to our drivers and partners we have reached the conclusion to start only at the second race in Barcelona."

The possibility now is that MRS could well have started the ‘domino effect’, with more teams’ taking note of their departure and themselves questioning the wisdom of racing this weekend. Could some teams’ now also follow MRS in pulling out of the Bahrain Grand Prix, from the likes of GP2 or even F1 if the controversy begins the spiral?

Amid this controversial decision by MRS, a cross party campaign back in the UK is calling for the event to canceled, and has been launched in Parliament. MP’s from both the Labour Party, Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats are calling for the event to be canceled, including the Shadow Foreign Secretary, Douglas Alexander.

However, with the controversy hardly waning, both Bernie Ecclestone and the FIA remain confident that the event will go ahead as planned and untroubled. Even McLaren driver and 2009 World Champion, Jenson Button, has spoken out stating he trusts the FIA’s decision to race in the Kingdom and that he has no security fears.

With the F1 fraternity clearly in two minds as to whether the event should be going ahead or not, with some journalists remaining at home for the weekend, it is a highly controversial topic that looks set to be dominating headlines this coming weekend as the track action begins on Friday morning.

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