Team Williams would have boycotted Bahrain Grand Prix if it took place as the season opener
Team Williams’ chairman Adam Parr recently stated that since the situation in Bahrain was not safe at all and holding a Formula 1 race during this time was quite risky, his team would have boycotted the Bahrain Grand Prix if the FIA had not called it off.
“Had the Bahrain Grand Prix gone ahead, I dont think we, and in fact I suspect even all the teams, would have gone,” he said.
At first, it seemed that the FIA was willing to carry on with the idea of holding the Bahrain Grand Prix as the season opener despite the political conditions in the country. The season opening race was expected to take place in Bahrain on March 13, 2011
but due to the political unrest in the country at the moment, the Crown Prince of Bahrain requested the FIA to postpone or cancel the race and the FIA obviously had to follow his request.
It was announced that the race had been cancelled as there was no chance of accommodating the race in the 2011 Formula 1 calendar but according to some recent reports, it has been revealed that the race might take place as the final race of the season most
probably.
It was obviously very disappointing for the fans and the teams as well but one has to admit that the situation in Bahrain and as we all know, safety comes first in Formula 1.
Adam also stated that if the FIA carried on with the idea of holding the Bahrain Grand Prix as the season opener of 2011, the rest of teams would have also boycotted the event.
The 2011 Formula 1 season was expected to be the first Formula 1 season to have held 20 races in a single year and it seems that the FIA still wants to carry on with the idea.
Rescheduling the Bahrain Grand Prix should not be a very big problem if they want to reschedule it as the final race of the season. The organisers of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix also stated that they have no problem if the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and Bahrain Grand
Prix take place back-to-back.
Other than that, the teams might not mind if the FIA decides to delay the grand finale as the season’s opening has already been delayed for 2 weeks and if the season’s finale gets delayed as well, that would not increase the length of the season at all.
It would be interesting to see what the FIA thinks about rescheduling the Bahrain Grand Prix in the near future.
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