Bahrain Grand Prix chief plays down Force India petrol bomb scare

(GMM) Bahrain's grand prix chief on Thursday played down the incident that caused a member of the Force India team to pull out of the event.

The team member was granted permission by Force India chiefs to head back to the UK, after a rented van carrying his colleagues was caught up in a Molotov cocktail attack on the return trip from the circuit late on Wednesday.

"They weren't targeted. They just happened to be there," said the Sakhir circuit's chairman Zayed R Alzayani, according to the BBC.

"It could happen in any place in the world really, getting caught up in a riot or a fight or anything."

He admitted there will "probably" be more incidents before the weekend is out.

"I don't think they will be within the track or close to the track, and I think they will be handled in the right way."

As for his advice to race-goers, Alzayani insisted: "Don't be too worried and too distracted not to enjoy the weekend."

In a provided media statement on Thursday, the Bahrain International Circuit said Force India was caught up in an "isolated incident".