Bahrain circuit chief Zayed Alzayani baffled by 'negative' media coverage of grand prix

The political situation in Bahrain was under intense scrutiny in the media long before Formula 1 personnel and journalists arrived in the kingdom, and that intensity kicked up a notch when reporters started arriving for the grand prix.

With the race now over, several team bosses have expressed their disappointment with the role played by the media over the past week, and Alzayani shares that view.

"You know, what surprised me is that some people continued with this negative tone," Alzayani told AUTOSPORT. "They started this without being on the ground, and throughout the season we offered many of them to come to Bahrain and write whatever they want to write, based on factual events rather than hearsay and speculation. But I don't think any of them took that offer seriously.

"It also surprised me that some of them went looking for a troublesome story to report, and one of the comments Bernie [Ecclestone] made when we paid a visit to the media centre was that he told a journalist that he was glad he was doing his real job, which is reporting about F1.

"If you go looking for trouble you will find it anywhere in the world: but look at the bigger picture. They were looking for a small story and making it the main issue, and leaving the real story uncovered. All in all they have seen that there is not much to report, and as I have said before: the race was really a triumph for Bahrain."