Show goes on, says defiant Todt and Ecclestone

FIA president Jean Todt and Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone have rejected a last-ditch plea for this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix to be cancelled. Whilst Ecclestone this week expressed empathy with protesters, and even agreed to again hold talks with opposition leaders as he did last year, Todt has been notable by his absence.

Despite the controversy that continues to surround the race, with protests taking place on a daily basis in a number of villages across the Gulf island kingdom, Todt will not be in attendance this weekend. Instead, the Frenchman is understood to be on the campaign trail as he plots his re-election to office, with the vote later this year. That is despite the fact a clear picture of repression was painted for Todt in a letter co-signed by four NGOs (non-governmental organisations), that was also sent to Ecclestone, the teams and their sponsors, calling for a rethink on their commitment to the race.

In the letter, signed by the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, Bahrain Press Association, Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights, and the UK-based Campaign Against Arms Trade, they claim if the race went ahead “it will be taking place in a country whose government continues to commit gross human rights violations, from arbitrary arrests to torture”.