F1 teams may pull out of Bahrain GP amid security concerns

Manama: Formula One`s teams would prefer not to travel to Bahrain for the race scheduled on April 22 amid security concerns, according to a report.

Formula One`s teams began the trip to China ahead of Sunday`s third race of the season, but the sport`s attention remained centred almost exclusively on next weekend visit to Bahrain amid mounting concerns about human rights abuses. According to the Telegraph, a protest group named the "February 14 Youth Coalition" has warned the Formula one staff that their safety could not be assured. The group also said that anyone travelling to Bahrain for the race would become part of the "bloody and criminal system" of the country. The warning has come after the reports of a bomb blast near the capital on Monday that wounded seven Bahraini policemen. Jones Yates, the former Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner who is acting as a special adviser to Bahrain`s security services, said that he was expecting the policing of the event to be "low key and discreet". But he also assured that security would be increased if the situation demanded so and nothing would lead to the postponing of the race. Meanwhile, Formula One`s governing body, the FIA, has not said anything on the matter. ANI