Small-scale protests against the Bahrain Grand Prix are expected across the country this weekend, according to the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (Bird), with the mass demonstrations that characterized the 2011 and 2012 meetings not likely to be repeated due to the climate of fear and crackdowns that now precede Formula One races in Bahrain.

Citizens said that the security apparatuses in Bahrain launched a random raid campaign against some houses and arrested a number of people, at a time Bahrain hosts Formula One race.

Ahead of the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix this weekend, Amnesty International has highlighted the grim human rights record of the country.

Human rights groups called on Wednesday for Formula One and its governing body, the FIA, to seek the immediate release of a jailed female activist and blogger ahead of this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix.

Formula One’s management group insisted, in a statement released to the Press Association, that it is in dialogue with Bahrain over the plight of imprisoned Bahraini Activist Najah Yusuf, while also defending its human rights policy.

Human Rights Watch urged Formula One not to turn a blind eye to human rights ahead of next week's Bahrain Grand Prix, according to the British "The Independent" newspaper.

Human Rights Watch published on its website an article to Minky Worden, Director of Global Initiatives, in which she criticized holding Formula One race in Bahrain amid ignorance of blatant human rights violations in Bahrain, which some of them are related to the same sport.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that the Formula One Group disregards its human rights commitments and overlooks grave rights abuses in Bahrain, stressing that some of the abuses appear to be directly related to Formula One's activities in the country.

Dubai-based MBC Group has announced that it acquired the rights to broadcast the FIA Formula One races in the Middle East and North Africa region. The broadcaster will offer F1 racing free-to-air under the deal which gives MBC five-year exclusive rights to show all 21 races.

Human rights groups accused Formula One on Wednesday of ignoring abuses allegedly related to the Bahrain Grand Prix, urging the sport's leaders to honour commitments and take a stronger stance.

A refugee footballer who spent over two months in Bangkok detention under threat of extradition to his native Bahrain will soon become an Australian citizen, he told local media Thursday.

Formula One bosses have been accused of turning a "blind eye" to the plight of a woman jailed after protesting against the Bahrain Grand Prix, the American Sky News website said.

Formula One has been accused of "looking the other way" by human rights groups in the case of an activist who was beaten, sexually abused and jailed for protesting against the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Refugee footballer Hakeem al-Araibi has urged Formula One fans to boycott this year's Grand Prix in Bahrain to protest human rights abuses, claiming he still feels threatened by authorities in his homeland, according to AFP.

For the last eight years, the Bahraini authorities have carried out an unrelenting campaign of repression against demonstrators, opposition leaders, peaceful critics, and human rights defenders, said Aya Majzoub in a report on the eighth anniversary of the Bahraini Uprising.

The Guardian newspaper said that Formula One chiefs have admitted for the first time that they are “concerned” that an activist who protested against the Bahrain Grand Prix on Facebook was jailed for three years by the country’s authorities.

Plans for Formula 1 to undertake pre-season testing in Bahrain have been dropped.

Formula One is investigating alleged illegal broadcasts of its content in the Middle East and North Africa by a television station already accused of pirating World Cup and European soccer.

Traffic Prosecution Chief Attorney Hussein Al-Buali announced that the traffic prosecution started investigation in the case of a video that went viral on social media outlets on June 8, 2018, showing the suspect performing stunts in the F1 parking. The suspect was arrested and investigated. He admitted the charge brought against him, i.e. performing stunts in his car, which would put lives and money to danger.

Behind the motors of the Formula One vehicles resounds the voice of dissidents who have been demanding political reforms in Bahrain since 2011.