Bahrain Grand Prix staging may help put troubled country's reform in the fast lane Even then, tear gas and stun grenades were used to quell anti-government protesters who threw petrol bombs at police. Clearly tensions are still running high. Does Formula One need to get involved in any of this? The simplest course would be to cancel the race, avoiding a potential PR disaster. But Bernie Ecclestone is determined to plough full-steam ahead, so the rest of us are forced to take a position. I have some sympathy with Ecclestone when he says that the politics of a country are not Formula One's concern. He knows that to cancel a race on political grounds would make a rod for his own back. Why boycott Bahrain but not China, whose human rights record is less than impressive? And talking of civil unrest, what about Britain? We had riots and looting and death on the streets of England last year. Should we boycott Silverstone? The difference, as Max Mosley argued so cogently last year, is that Bahrain is unique. Whereas in China 99 per cent of the population have no idea what Formula One is and would not notice if it wasn't there, in Bahrain - with a population roughly the size of Birmingham - the grand prix is their window on the world. To go there is implicitly to support the regime. To my mind, then, the issue of whether to race in Bahrain boils down to two questions. Firstly, would it be safe? There are no guarantees. Any race will inevitably be targeted by demonstrators and, while security will be tight, all it would take is one death to make the whole event a disaster. Teams and sponsors are naturally wary about this. But judging by the strength last week's protests, they may reckon that the government has things in hand. We shall see. Second, given that the sport, whether it likes it or not, has become politicised in Bahrain, are we confident about the reform taking place there? Could Formula One find itself being used as a "tool" to whitewash last year's atrocities? Again this is very tricky to answer. So tricky that our own politicians are divided on it. Two weeks ago a group of peers wrote an open letter to The Times calling on Formula One to boycott Bahrain, saying the situation had worsened rather than improved. An all-party group of MPs took the opposite position, arguing that a race would help the country continue "on the path of genuine reform." All very tricky. My gut instinct is that constructive engagement beats boycotts by helping to open countries up to scrutiny. Like Damon Hill, one of the very few brave enough to offer an opinion, and Cherif Bassiouni, who chaired the independent inquiry and likewise thinks the race should take place, I believe the message has got through to Bahrain's rulers. Which is why I have decided I will be going to Bahrain if the race goes ahead. Now, where's my insurance?