Formula One teams, FIA back decision to postpone Bahrain GP
Formula One teams and the sport’s governing body, the FIA, have backed the decision of the organisers in Bahrain to withdraw the season’s opening race from the country. This decision came following the unrest in the Middle-East state in recent days.
The FIA said in a statment, “The Federation Internationale de l'Automobile supports the decision of the Bahrain Motor Federation and the Bahrain International Circuit to postpone the scheduled first Grand Prix of the 2011 season due to be held in the Kingdom
of Bahrain on March 11-13.”
The sport’s governing body further stated that they were in continuous contact with the management in Bahrain. According to the FIA, the decision had been made after considering the safety of all the teams which were due to participate in the event.
Apart from the FIA, Formula One teams have also welcomed the decision saying that the conditions in the country were inappropriate for holding an international event. Williams CEO Adam Parr said that he was disappointed with the decision, but added that
considering the current situation, there was no choice left for the FIA and the management in Bahrain.
He further added that Williams would be looking forward to racing in Bahrain in the future when the country is in a stable state. Bahrain was also scheduled to host a pre-season test before the season officially kicked-off. However, that test will be now
held in Barcelona, where the teams completed their four-day testing on 21st February.
The next test in Barcelona will take place from 8-11th February and the season will start on 27th March with the Australian Grand Prix (GP). The move to hold the final test yet again in Barcelona didn’t please some of the teams. Toro
Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari said that he would have liked to test the Pirelli rubber in the hot and humid conditions of Bahrain.
All pre-season tests prior to Bahrain had been conducted under different weather conditions and Bahrain was the most humid and hottest track compared to the others.
Ferrari’s Felipe Massa was also disappointed with the decision. However, the Brazilian hoped that the situation would improve soon and said that he would like to return to Bahrain sometime later this season. Massa claimed that Bahrain was one of his favourite
tracks and that he loved to race there.
Current Formula One champion team Red Bull was also not pleased with the current situation. Red Bull’s team principal Christian Horner said that it was a shame to lose the Bahrain GP. However, he said that the current issues in the country were more important
than the Formula One race.
The organisers in Bahrain though, are confident of hosting a Formula One race very soon, and they claimed that the situation would return to normal within a few days.
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