Car crash in the desert?

In 2004, when the Formula One circus first travelled to the Middle East for the inaugural Bahrain Grand Prix, there was little sign of the storm to come. The first event was hailed as a success — and not just for Michael Schumacher, who notched up his 73rd victory in the Sakhir desert. The FIA — the sport’s governing body — even declared it that year’s ‘Best Organised Grand Prix’. Few would have guessed then that, eight years later, so many would want to see the race cancelled.

But when the calls came — first from Nabeel Rajab, the Vice President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, two days after Bahraini police were accused of beating him — it wasn’t such a surprise. After all, last year’s race had already been cancelled following the outbreak of civil unrest, and the situation is hardly any calmer now than it was then.