Former world motorsport supremo Max Mosley has joined the critics on the rescheduling of the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix and warned the sport could pay a heavy price for it.
Mosley wrote in the Sunday Times paper that putting the original season—opener back on the calendar for October 30 would give the local government a chance to “clean up its image” after a bloody crackdown on pro—democracy protesters.
“By agreeing to race there, Formula One becomes complicit in what has happened. It becomes one of the Bahrain government’s instruments of repression,” said Mosley, who presided over FIA from 1993—2009.
“The decision to hold the race is a mistake which will not be forgotten and, if not reversed, will eventually cost Formula One dear.” The FIA decided on Friday to reschedule the race and not to scrap it from the 2011 calendar, a move that drew heavy criticism led by human rights organizations.
Former world champion Damon Hill was also among the critics while Red Bull driver Mark Webber said he would be “highly surprised if the Bahrain Grand Prix goes ahead.”
