Bahrain’s Crown Prince on Friday ruled out cancelling the troubled island kingdom’s grand prix.

“I think cancelling just empowers extremists,” he told reporters, whilst standing alongside F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone.

Pressure on the race organisers, Ecclestone and the FIA to cancel the race has only intensified after Force India and Sauber revealed their brushes with petrol bombs.

“I can absolutely guarantee that any problems that may or may not happen are not directed at F1,” the Crown Prince insisted.

Ecclestone, meanwhile, pointed his finger at the media.

“There are other countries much higher up the priority list you should be writing about,” he told the scrum of reporters.

“Go to Syria and write about those things there because it’s more important than here.”

When asked about the violent clashes between Bahraini protesters and the police, Ecclestone said: “It’s a lot of nonsense. You guys love it.”

However, he did admit that going ahead with the race is “a little bit silly” for the Bahrain government because it gives the protesters “such an incredible platform”.

With F1 currently scheduled to arrive en masse in Bahrain next week, a crisis surrounding the possible cancellation of the island Kingdom’s race is continuing to deepen.

The teams have now denied Bernie Ecclestone’s claim that they can simply choose to skip the event.

“That would not be possible,” said a statement issued by the teams association FOTA. “Teams are unable to cancel (a) grand prix.”

Bahrain, meanwhile, stepped up its campaign, accusing some of deploying “scare-mongering tactics” designed to force the race’s cancellation.

The race organisers released a report conducted by Lotus, following the Enstone based team’s recent reconnaissance mission to Bahrain.

“We came away from Bahrain feeling a lot more confident that everything is in hand,” Lotus is quoted as having reported.

The team, however, reacted angrily, accusing the organisers of having released a “confidential” document.

“Lotus F1 Team is one of 12 contestants of the … world championship and we would never try to substitute ourselves for the FIA”, said the Enstone based team.

Surmised Times correspondent Kevin Eason on Twitter: “(It’s) getting messy…”

At the same time, F1 chief executive Ecclestone became fully immersed in the political situation on Tuesday, reporteding personally phoning Bahrain’s crown prince to express concern about the jailed hunger striker.

An Amnesty International report published this week had called for Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja’s release, amid claims he is now close to death and being force-fed.

But the Bahrain government, through its information affairs authority, insisted that only police and rioters are being injured in “infrequent and remote clashes”.

Also weighing into the argument was Sir Jackie Stewart, the eloquent triple world champion, who said: “I would go.

“The commercial rights holder has sold a package, at a price, and it is part of the constructors’ agreement that they attend the races that have been published,” he told the Guardian.

“As a team owner I would have to honour my agreement both orally and legally.”

Whatever happens, the Bahrain saga – stretching back now over a year – is not good news for the future of the island Kingdom’s calendar spot.

“Maybe we wouldn’t renew it (the contract),” Ecclestone admitted to the BBC. “We’ll have to look and see.”

Now less than three weeks before the island kingdom is scheduled to host its return to formula one, bitter protests and violence have once again erupted in Bahrain.

Witnesses claim a 22-year-old man who was filming the firing of tear gas on protesters was shot and killed by state-supporting militia on Friday.

The death – reportedly the first since last year’s troubles forced the cancellation of the 2011 race and test – intensified the clashes and calls for the forthcoming grand prix to be axed.

The government has denied it is responsible for the death.

“The ministry of interior will do all it can to find the criminal and bring him to justice,” a spokesman is quoted as saying by the Times of London.

The ministry also confirmed that Nabeel Rajab, the president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, has been arrested.

He had said last week: “We are going to use the opportunities that a lot of journalists are there (for the grand prix) and we are going to protest everywhere.”

The protests, however, continued.

“We (object to) holding a sports race that belittles the sacrifices of our children and ignores our suffering and wounds,” said a video statement posted on the internet by a protester.

“Do not tarnish the reputation of the respected auto sport with the blood of Bahrain victims.”

And on Twitter, the hashtags #BloodyF1 and #noF1 are being used to protest against the race and link to graphic photos and videos purporting to depict government violence.

Damon Hill has backed Bahrain as the island Kingdom returns to the F1 calendar this year.
After last year’s race was cancelled, the 1996 world champion travelled to Bahrain with FIA president Jean Todt and afterwards said he supports the decision to give the Sakhir circuit its April 22 date for 2012.

However, as some clashes between protesters and police are still taking place, there are some who believe strongly that Bahrain is not ready to host F1 again.

The teams are mainly quiet, but Red Bull’s Christian Horner said last week that, “As far as I’m aware, we’re definitely going.

“As of today there’s a race committed to Bahrain and we’ll be there,” he added.

Telegraph correspondent Tom Cary added: “I have decided I will be going to Bahrain if the race goes ahead.”

Briton Hill, the winner of 22 grands prix, thinks Horner and Cary are right.

“Everyone wants things to move in the right direction in Bahrain,” he is quoted by The Sun.

“The grand prix is of huge economic importance to Bahrain. You’d almost be putting an economic sanction on Bahrain by pulling the race.”

 Bernie Ecclestone has played down the latest reports about violence in Bahrain, insisting April’s 2012 race is still scheduled to go ahead.
On the one-year anniversary of the ‘Day of Rage’ unrest, international media agencies claimed violent clashes took place, with youths throwing rocks and petrol bombs and police hitting back with tear-gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades.

“The only message I got was that there were some kids in trouble with the police,” F1 chief executive Ecclestone told the Telegraph.

“We are planning to go. People there seem confident that a race two months away will be alright.”

At the Jerez test last week, it was suggested teams were expressing concerns about Bahrain.

But Ecclestone insists: “The teams are not the slightest bit concerned. They seem happy that things will go ahead without problems.

“Last year was a more clear-cut decision not to go but things have changed a lot since then.”

In recent days, however, F1 has been the subject of a high profile row about the event, with influential figures and political parties publicly debating whether the sport is right or wrong to return to Bahrain.

“We’ve always been non-political,” said Ecclestone, 81. “Any decision will be made on grounds of safety.”

But an FIA spokesman said the “staging of a grand prix would be beneficial in bridging some of the difficulties Bahrain is experiencing”.

And a spokesman for the Bahrain International Circuit told CNN: “We are entirely confident that the race can be and will be an excellent event.

“The FIA has said that there is no reason why the grand prix should not go ahead.”

The unnamed spokesman also compared Bahrain’s problems of the last twelve months with London’s riots last August.

“There’s no doubt that (in Bahrain) there have been some small riots, nothing like on the scale that we saw in London,” he insisted.

“When it comes to being in and around the track, the drivers and the teams will be extremely safe. Absolutely, totally confident about that.”

 With the 2012 season now just weeks away, the most serious doubts yet about April’s returning Bahrain grand prix have emerged.
Reports claim that, on the eve of the one year anniversary of the bloody ‘Day of Rage’ protests that led to the cancellation of the race and test in early 2011, violent clashes involving tear gas-firing police have broken out.

“Formula one is monitoring events there”, a report in the Guardian newspaper said.

“Formula one’s governing body is keeping a low profile because it doesn’t want to be part of the mounting pressure and speculation,” added journalist Paul Weaver.

International news agencies including Reuters and the Associated Press reported this week’s clashes involve protesters trying to reoccupy the symbolic scenes of the 2011 violence.

“Traffic came to a standstill on the main thoroughfare into the capital (Manama), and teargas canisters, rubber pellets and rocks littered the highway,” said Reuters, adding that elsewhere “youths threw petrol bombs, iron bars and rocks” and police returned fire with “stun grenades”.

The New York Times, meanwhile, referred to numerous

The FIA is still not ready to set a date for the hearing about the Ferrari team orders affair.
It has been reported this week that the team’s one-two finish at Hockenheim will be considered during the regular World Motor Sport Council meeting in Como, Italy, on September 10.

But that date clashes with Friday free practice at Monza.

“The relevant committees are consulting about it (a date for the Ferrari hearing),” a spokesman for the Paris based federation is quoted in the German press.