[14] With pre-season testing for the 2012 season starting in February 2012, the future of the Bahrain Grand Prix became the focus of renewed speculation.

Bernie Ecclestone maintained his stance on the race going ahead, while 1996 World Champion Damon Hill stated his belief that Formula One could return to Bahrain "with a clear conscience" after visiting the country.

[19] Fellow former World Champion Jackie Stewart expressed his support for the race taking place, warning that cancelling the Grand Prix could be even more damaging to the sport than holding it.

[20] "The FIA, like many in the diplomatic community in the kingdom, the main political opposition [...] believes the staging of a Grand Prix would be beneficial in bridging some of the difficulties Bahrain is experiencing.

The FIA is not in a position to influence political matters in a sovereign country such as Bahrain and we can only wish for a long-term peaceful solution."

"You've got to be very careful because if you were to say the Bahrain Grand Prix should not take place, then will there be pressure on Russia, for example, for the Winter Olympics when they come round in 2014?

[23] Ecclestone was unconcerned about the threat, stating he did not feel the protesters needed to resort to violence, and expressing confidence event organisers would not respond to any opposition with force.

[26] The government rejected these claims, with circuit chairman Zayed al-Zayani putting the race forward as being in the interests of all involved, and that it would bring economic benefits to the region that could not be ignored.

[29] The same day, The Guardian quoted an unnamed team principal as saying he was "uncomfortable" with going to Bahrain, and "the only way they [the organisers] can pull this race off without incident is to have a complete military lockdown there.

[28] The report by Lotus was substantiated by a briefing from John Yates, former Assistant Commissioner to the London Metropolitan Police Service and advisor to the Bahrain Ministry of the Interior, stating the protests were unlawful and being misrepresented in the media.

[37] "I am particularly concerned that those intimately involved in F1 – drivers, teams, sponsors, media and supporters wishing to attend – are being presented with a distorted picture.

This picture is being shaped by a huge amount of inaccurate and often deliberately false information being spread through social media forums.

The almost nightly skirmishes that take place in certain villages are a potential block on progress and are putting those involved in their policing and innocent members of the public in significant danger.

[54] Journalists reporting on the conflict passed the opinion that the "UNIF1ED" campaign had failed to present the country as united, and instead had the opposite effect.

[57] The Labour Party also appealed directly to British drivers Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton and Paul di Resta to boycott the race.

[58] Labour leader Ed Miliband and Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper openly called for the race to be cancelled.

[59][60] In a letter addressed to Red Bull and News Corporation CEOs Dietrich Mateschitz and Rupert Murdoch, Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander urged the teams, media, and sponsors to boycott the event.

[34] On 19 April, it emerged that several sponsors, including Royal Dutch Shell, Vodafone and UBS, would not be using the race to entertain clients and partners.

[61] FIA President Jean Todt maintained his stance that the country was secure, and was quoted as saying "it is clear the Grand Prix can go ahead.

The first team members arrived in Bahrain on 17 April amid reports that sixty Shi'ite protest leaders had been arrested ahead of the race.

AFP further reported that all personnel handling cameras were required to carry high-visibility markings at all times so as to make them easily identifiable and prevent them from covering events away from the circuit.

[72] Reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel added that he felt Bahrain was no more dangerous than Brazil;[73] at the 2010 Brazilian Grand Prix in São Paulo, 2009 World Champion Jenson Button was involved in an incident in which armed gunmen attempted to hold up his road car after he left the circuit.

[73][75] In an opinion piece for The Independent, journalist Robert Fisk launched a scathing attack on the drivers for their neutral stance, calling Sebastian Vettel "clueless" and accusing Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton of double standards, concluding that sports people in the 21st Century could no longer afford to distance themselves from moral values.

But the crew are totally committed to delivering qualifying and the race – and if it means a limited or no FP2 in order to achieve that, that is the decision we will have to take.

[81] The team members had been travelling in an unmarked car[82] and were held up by an impromptu roadblock which they were unable to clear before a petrol bomb exploded nearby.

[87] Force India driver Nico Hülkenberg was disturbed by the chain of events, quoted as saying that it was "not right" that team members should have to fear for their personal safety.

You [in Britain] had these problems last year in your country and there is a very big different between protesting for political rights and rioting, and the attack that happened around Force India was aimed at the police.

[101] His comments were criticised on several fronts, with media freedom groups pointing out that by limiting the access given to journalists, the government "wants the international attention brought by hosting a Grand Prix but doesn't want foreign journalists to wander from the race track where they might see political protests", thereby turning the race into a "propaganda exercise".