I have been a Formula 1 fan for over 30 years now. I wouldn't say I'm rabid about the sport, as I sure as hell don't know every conceivable statistic about F1, like, say, baseball fans seem to have about their sport - at least in Hollywood films. Some seasons are dull, some seasons a lot more exciting. The same goes for races too.
But I do love F1 - the speed, the characters, the drama, the colour - and for anyone who has ever attended an actual Grand Prix weekend, as I have, the sheer noise, energy and spectacle of it all defies words. It's amazing.
Watching an F1 race has been a Sunday ritual for me for many years now, and sporting rituals have a funny way of making one's life more interesting, more fun, sometimes even more bearable.
However, there does come a time when sport must take a backseat to principles and politics and, yes, doing the right thing. In less than two weeks, on Sunday, April 22nd, the F1 circus will be hosted by Bahrain. Owing to political unrest and violence the 2011 race at that island state kingdom was cancelled. That was the correct thing to do, and I was glad for that. It was a big blow for the Bahraini powers-that-be - F1 is a huge prestige and glamour showcase for the small nation, even if the race itself is poorly attended and many F1 fans hate the track anyway.
As the Bahraini dictatorship (which is exactly what it is, by the way) continues to this very day to imprison doctors (for simply helping out in the mayhem of demonstrations last year) and to harass its citizens who clamour for more democracy, then it only makes sense that Formula 1 take a stand and simply not attend.
Yes, there are also F1 races in dictatorships and dubious nations like China and the UAE. But for a nation of just over a million, the F1 GP is intrinsically linked to the Bahraini regime.
Enter Bernie Ecclestone. The self-styled Formula 1 'supremo' has a near-stranglehold on the commercial rights to the sport, and is also one of the richest men in the UK. Everyone knows that Bernie loves (really L-O-V-E-S) money, and has an uncanny ability to ferret it out, like a prize specially trained pig that sniffs out truffles in an Tuscan forest. The man has amassed a huge fortune by making sure that only the highest bidder gets to host a race - which is why countries with terrific tracks like France, Austria and Portugal don't host Grand Prix, yet countries with piss-all racing traditions like Bahrain, Singapore and Abu Dhabi do. Bernie may love Formula 1, but Bernie loves money and influence a whole lot more.
But there comes a time when that cannot be enough. Even for Bernie. Of course, he continues to trumpet that old chestnut of "you shouldn't mix sports with politics", but even he must surely know that is ringing very hollow. Knowing him, he probably doesn't give a damn. A deal is a deal, and Bernie wants future deals with rich, dictatorial Arabs.
Today on the popular blog www.planet-f1.com, the headline reads, "Bosses urge FIA [the international federation for motorsport] to call off Bahrain." They're not even bothering to urge Bernie himself, probably knowing far better than I what a lost cause that is.
Ironically, I did benefit from attending Grand Prix at the splendid Kyalami track near Johannesburg at the height of apartheid. South Africa was barred from the Olympics at that time, there was an arms embargo against the country, and we were the international pariah in just about everything. But we could count on F1 races well into the 1980s. Even then it's clear that F1 had very little conscience.
Last year the F1 fraternity did have a conscience, even if it was mostly on 'security' grounds. It was hardly making a moral stand, but at least the Bahrain GP didn't go ahead. I'd settle for the same again this year.
Of one I thing know - even if the Bahrain GP does go ahead this year, I for one will be boycotting it and will not be amongst the millions tuning in that weekend. I may love Formula 1, but not that much.
Do you get my point?
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