Finding videos shot by fans for most recent races is quite straightforward. Even events that have not previously enjoyed substantial crowds – like the Chinese Grand Prix – are gaining in popularity, meaning fan footage is easier to come by.
That’s not the case when it comes to the Bahrain Grand Prix. Two years on from the cancelled grand prix the turmoil in the country is evidenced by the imposition of something approaching martial law to ensure the pro-democracy protests don’t interfere with the running of the race.
This has an inevitable effect on attendance, which in the most optimistic projections of the race organisers only reached 28,000 on race day. On top of that the Bahrain government censors and restricts access to online and social media.
So it’s hardly surprising the collection of decent-quality footage from the last race is rather meagre. Here’s a small selection of videos shot at the race weekend.
Practice
Start
Fernando Alonso briefly takes second place off Sebastian Vettel at the start of the race.
Race
Lots of empty seats in this turn three grandstand as the race goes on.
Thanks to @Girts for researching this article. If you’re interested in contributing to F1 Fanatic, see here for details on how you can:
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2013 Bahrain Grand Prix
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Image ?é?® Pirelli/LAT
Roald (@roald)
7th May 2013, 18:59
Seriously, I don’t care how many seats are empty. Doesn’t bother me when I’m watching tv. Of course it’s dumb, look at MotoGP, they have 4 Spanish races on the calendar to attract fans, most popular riders are Spanish after all. But it’s not my wallet, so why should I care about it? As long as the racing’s good, I’m good. This year’s race was great! I know there’s a lot to be said about the political situation, but do we have to go oooooon and oooooon about it on a Formula 1 website? Like we’re making a difference anyway. Everyone here knows about the political situation and everyone has their opinion about it.
Now I know I might come across as someone who doesn’t have feelings, but that’s not the truth, I do care. This is just not the place to keep discussing it in my opinion. I don’t mind an article about the political situation, not at all, because F1 got itself involved after all! There’s just no need to talk about it each and every time the Bahrain Grand Prix gets mentioned. Now go ahead and tell me why I’m so completely wrong.
BasCB (@bascb)
8th May 2013, 9:25
1. Its a worry when there are empty stands, because in the end it means the locals are not interested enough, and are not able to get visitors in. Meaning it loses more money and has less support in the country, meaning its long term viability is shaky.
2. the Political background is key, as the race is clearly linked to the government. We also mention the protests around Canada last year, the politics of having COTA (and their disagreement with Hellmund), the shaky grounds for Valencia with no money in the country and the struggles involved to even have a German GP at the Nurburgring. So why not mention something that clearly influenced the atmosphere around this race?
Retired (@jeff1s)
7th May 2013, 20:00
28,000 people! Clearly not enough for a worldwide sport such as F1. The sport tried to go to Asia & Middle-East but quite failed. F1 should try to go to Finland, France or Portugal in next years.
BasCB (@bascb)
8th May 2013, 9:11
Lots of empty seats indeed …