During preparations for the Chinese Grand Prix, one week before the race in Bahrain, Zayed al-Zayani drew attention to a report commissioned by Lotus F1 predicting protests over the race would be limited to peaceful demonstrations, and aside from a slight increase in police presence, spectators "would not notice the difference" between the 2010 and 2012 events. The report by Lotus was substantiated by a briefing from John Yates, former Assistant Commissioner to the London Metropolitan Police Service and advisor to the Bahrain Ministry of the Interior, stating the protests were unlawful and being misrepresented in the media. Yates later admitted there was no way the Bahraini government could guarantee anybody's safety for the duration of the race meeting, and security forces might be forced to use live ammunition and lethal force in the event of an incident during the Grand Prix. Following this and warnings that the protests could result in casualties, Nabeel Rajab — president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights — offered reassurances that nobody within the Formula One community would be hurt in the protests, and that the protests were not a personal attack on the sport, but rather against the political implications of the race going ahead.
