26/05/2011
NEWS STORY
Ahead of next week's deadline, Bernie Ecclestone remains adamant that Bahrain's 2011 round of the world championship should be rescheduled.
With the FIA choosing to reschedule the original May deadline, June 3 is now crunch time if F1 is to return to Bahrain this year. Although the unrest continues, despite what some might be saying, Ecclestone is confident that Formula One can return to the country in safety.
"They are all nice people there and I don't think we'd have any problem," he told reporters in Monaco today. "It's just a case of if somebody wants to get a bit of attention, that would probably be a good way to do it. But I don't think from a safety point of view there is anything to worry about."
Ignoring the moral issues - something that F1 has usually been able to do - there is concern as to how rescheduling the race will affect the teams , not only in terms of logistics but in terms of adding to an already hectic schedule. The teams went into this year in the knowledge that at twenty races - the maximum allowed under the current Concorde Agreement - they faced their longest and busiest season ever. Wherever a slot is found for Bahrain it will lead to problems.
"We've got to make a decision because the teams want to know what's going on," Ecclestone admitted, having previously met with the team principals concerned.
With talk of the season being extended into mid-December, teams fear that it would be too much for staff who are already pushed to the limit.
"That's what the teams are concerned about," said the F1 supremo. "It's difficult with all the working people. The teams are going to speak to all their people and find out what the general feeling is. They are happy. It's a problem with the date."
Asked if it was still possible that the Indian GP might be rescheduled to allow Bahrain to take its current October slot, Ecclestone agreed that this was the most likely scenario. "India would move to December," he said. "We'll see."