Bernie Ecclestone says Bahrain Grand Prix decision to be made before 2011 Formula 1 season begins
Formula 1 CEO, Bernie Ecclestone, recently stated that the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) must come up with a decision regarding the Bahrain Grand Prix. The Bahrain GP was expected to take place on the 13th of March as the season
opening race of the 2011 Formula 1 season.
The race did not take place because of the current political situation in Bahrain is unpredictable. The organizers of the event and Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa advised Bernie to cancel the race. However, Ecclestone claims that the Crown Prince
believes that if the conditions are safe enough, the country can host the race at a different date this season if possible.
"To do that the FIA has to change the calendar, and Bahrain has to apply for a new slot. The FIA World Council will meet at the beginning of March and could look into the situation. I have already spoken with FIA President Jean Todt about the possibility
of finding a new date and we both agreed that a decision has to be made before the season starts,” Bernie told Formula One's official website.
However, the only problem is that since the 2011 Formula 1 season calendar is already packed and finding a slot for the Bahrain Grand Prix is quite difficult. It is believed that the only solution is to keep the race around the end of the 2011 season as
the weather in Bahrain during the summers is extremely hot. Keeping that in mind, Bernie stated that the race could take place during the summer break as well despite the hot temperature.
“I think the teams are sensible enough even to race in Bahrain in the summer break, and despite high temperatures, because this is the way we can support the country,” he said.
Other than that, he also rejected claims that the original decision of postponing the race should have been made earlier but it was not possible according to the CEO.
The 2011 Formula 1 season was expected to be the first Formula 1 season to hold 20 races in a single year and it seems that Bernie wants to stick to the original idea and hopefully reschedule the Bahrain Grand Prix for a later date.
As a result, the 2011 Formula 1 season is expected to take place in Australia on the 27th of March and it is going to be interesting to see how the teams perform at the season opener as their first performance of the season will definitely give
us an idea of what the teams are capable of in the 2011 Formula 1 season.
Tags: