The recent unrest in the Arab world, which led to the departure of President Ben Ali in Tunisia, and the departure on Friday of Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak following 18 days of protests challenging his authority, may cause some problems for the Formula 1 world in the weeks ahead.

The troubles, which kicked off in Tunisia, have spread around the region with protesters trying to oust President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Yemen, fears that Algeria may be heading the same direction after demonstrations over the weekend which featured placards calling for the resignation of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and further protests being planned for February 19, while the Palestinian Authority has just announced long overdue elections, in the hope of warding off similar trouble.

None of this matters much to the Formula 1 community, who read about it in their newspapers each morning – if indeed they bother to do that. However, things may get more difficult in the weeks ahead as there could be trouble today in authoritarian Iran and in Bahrain.

There has been evidence of an undercurrent of discontent in Bahrain since F1’s first visit, with occasional flare-ups in the Sanabis district, in the outskirts of Manama, being witnessed first hand by some of those in the F1 community. The authorities naturally like to play these down. Earlier today, however, the security forces were reportedly firing tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse anti-government protesters as tensions rose on the island as preparations were made for what protesters have called a “day of rage” against the current system. Bahrain is a strategic Western ally and home to the US 5th Fleet. The protests due today are to mark the anniversary of the country’s 2002 constitution that brought pro-democracy reforms. The protesters want more change. This is partly due to the strong hold the ruling family has over the government and partly because Shiites make up about 70 percent of the population, although the ruling minority is Sunni. In the last few days the Bahrain Center for Human Rights has sent a public letter to King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, asking for reforms which would include the release of jailed activists and the prosecution of state officials for abuses.

I include the following video, with no particular comment except that these things are not being invented.

Formula 1 teams are due to go to Bahrain from March 3-6 for the final pre-season test. They will then leave their equipment at the Sakhir circuit in the run-up to the season-opening Grand Prix on March 11-13.

The GP2 circus is heading there from Abu Dhabi for the second round of the GP2 Asia Series, which will take place at the Sakhir Circuit from February 17-19.