Force India boycotted by the FOM?
The only team not to have taken part in one of the sessions for unofficial reasons related to a lack of safety, is Force India experiencing a form of censorship from the organization holding the Formula 1 rights?
Wednesday evening, a car carrying four members of the Force India team was accidentally caught in clashes between protesters and security forces on one of the main roads in Manama. A molotov cocktail exploded near the vehicle after it was forced to stop: « No one on our team was injured. We were not directly targeted by these molotov cocktails » said a spokesperson for the Indian team.
Following this incident, two members of the Sahara Force India team were allowed to leave the country. Despite everything, the team chose not to forfeit. However, they decided on Friday afternoon not to take part in the second practice session to avoid movements planned at that time of day.
A decision that, while seemingly motivated by legitimate concerns as Bahrain is in the grip of a violent internal uprising, could have collateral consequences. The more astute viewers might have noticed that during Free Practice 3, despite being the first drivers to set a time, no footage of the white, orange, and green cars was shown on screen for an hour. Coincidence or bad luck? Nothing is less certain, especially knowing that this phenomenon also occurred during the qualifying session, where, despite Paul di Resta’s entry into Q3, no images of the VJM05 were broadcast.
It doesn’t take much more to wonder if Formula One Management has deliberately decided to deprive Force India and its sponsors of media exposure as a form of “reprisal”.
