The acronym FIA (reputedly) stands for the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile, and is the world governing body overseeing motor sport. Many folk would rather believe that the acronym stands for the Foolishly Inept Association.
It has made so many oafish decisions in the past that in many quarters it is considered an expensive joke, and splinter organizations have sprung up to run regional events, without the blessing of the FIA or its local equivalents.
The latest bumble-footed decision by the FIA is to decide that Bahrain is a lovely quiet spot in the Middle East, white sand, lovely beaches and a great place to relax, so let’s run the Grand Prix again. Yes, the same GP that was cancelled in the first half of the year because of civil unrest, gunfights, 30 deaths and hundreds of people arrested.
To compound this oafery, they have taken the date allocated to the first Indian GP and given that to Bahrain, and India can have a date in December, when every team just wants to go home. The fact that Indian enthusiasts from all over the world have arranged their holidays, paid for air tickets and hotel accommodation does not even come into their thinking process it would seem.
I expected better of a Jean Todt run FIA. I was sadly mistaken. We will see what the Formula 1 Teams Association (FOTA) will do. Probably nothing, I fear.
