09/06/2011
NEWS STORY
FIA president Jean Todt has written to the teams' alliance (FOTA) essentially blaming Bernie Ecclestone for the ongoing fiasco that is the 2011 Bahrain Grand Prix.
Having been reminded of the rule by which the calendar can only be altered with the written agreement of all twelve teams, and in response to a letter from FOTA earlier this week, Jean Todt has responded.
"It is the responsibility of the commercial rights holder to perform all necessary prior due diligence in order to secure his calendar proposal to the World Motor Sport Council," wrote the Frenchman.
Pointing out that Bahrain has been on the agenda since March 8 and that the delegate of the Formula One commission, representing all the teams, had approved the date changes at the meeting in Barcelona, he added that the FIA is "always prepared to address any issues, however difficult, in a constructive manner.
"I have listened to your last-minute objections," he added, "and have asked the commercial rights holder to re-examine his calendar proposal, and if necessary, to resubmit a revised proposal to the world council. I hope that a solution satisfactory for everybody can be promptly reached, in the interest of the sport and all the stakeholders."
To add to the confusion, the FIA has issued a revised calendar which still lists the Bahrain GP on Oct 30 and India on Dec. 11.