F1 teams try to reconcile thier dissonance by blaming media for reporting real story of Hamad’s brutal F1 circus

Formula 1 teams criticise media for ‘politicising’ Bahrain Grand Prix
By Jonathan Noble – 24 April, 2012 – autosport.com

Sakhir paddock Formula 1 team bosses have hit out at the way the sport was turned into a political battleground over the Bahrain Grand Prix, on the back of the media storm that erupted around the event.

With the Sakhir race becoming into headline news, and various politicians stepping in to call for it to be cancelled, several team bosses say they are unhappy about the way the situation was portrayed outside the paddock.

Lotus team principal Eric Boullier told AUTOSPORT: “I should not say it, but the media did not do for me what they should have done.

“There are various issues, which are up to the country to fix. But there are issues in every country, even in England, France and other European countries, and the over-dramatisation was definitely wrong.

“F1 is a sport and should be seen as a sport. We also know that it is very important for Bahrain to have this event, it is their biggest event of the year, and F1 should not be used as a political tool.”

When asked if the negative coverage could be a turn-off for potential sponsors, Boullier said: “It is their choice, but politics is never good to mix with sport.

“We have enough inside our paddock. We don’t need to bring what is going on outside in, and that is what the media did. The media brought the external politics inside the paddock and that is not good.”

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said his outfit did not spend much time worrying about how the event was being reported. But he feels that F1 should not have been forced into the political arena. …more