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Barcelona replaces Bahrain for tests
Source: Agencies |
February 23, 2011, Wednesday
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FORMULA One teams have agreed to test in Barcelona from March 8-11 instead of in Bahrain after the season-opening race was called off on Monday, Williams Chairman Adam Parr said.
The teams had been due to test in Bahrain on March 3 and race there on March 13.
Bahrain GP organizers called off the season-opener after a week of anti-government protests.
While the authorities hoped for a possible re-scheduling of the country's biggest sporting event, a final preseason test at the Sakhir circuit was canceled outright, forcing the 12 teams to return to Spain's Barcelona circuit after wrapping up a session there on Monday.
The decision to postpone the race, already considered a foregone conclusion in F1 circles, meant the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 27 becomes the first event on what was planned to be a record 20-round calendar.
"The Bahrain International Circuit today announced that the Kingdom of Bahrain would withdraw from hosting this year's F1 Grand Prix race so that the country can focus on its process of national dialogue," said a statement by the Bahrain Circuit authorities.
They added that Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, who is also deputy supreme commander of Bahrain's armed forces, had told Formula One's commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone in a telephone call.
Formula One's governing body, the International Automobile Federation, team bosses and drivers said they supported the move.
No decision was made on any re-scheduling, with the situation in Manama still tense.
First country
Ecclestone, key to Bahrain becoming the first country in the Middle East to host a Formula One race in 2004, sympathized.
"It is sad that Bahrain has had to withdraw from the race, we wish the whole nation well," the 80-year-old said.
"The hospitality and warmth of the people of Bahrain is a hallmark of the race there, as anyone who has been at a Bahrain Grand Prix will testify. We look forward to being back in Bahrain soon."
The race at Sakhir could be slotted in at the end of the calendar but that also poses problems, with the final grand prix currently scheduled for Brazil on November 27 after a penultimate round in Abu Dhabi on November 13.
Staging a race back-to-back with Abu Dhabi and pushing Brazil back to December might make sense geographically and logistically, although that would steal some of the thunder from Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina circuit.
Bahrain was the first race to be called off since the Pacific Grand Prix at Aida in Japan in 1995 had to be rescheduled due to a major earthquake in the region.
The teams had been due to test in Bahrain on March 3 and race there on March 13.
Bahrain GP organizers called off the season-opener after a week of anti-government protests.
While the authorities hoped for a possible re-scheduling of the country's biggest sporting event, a final preseason test at the Sakhir circuit was canceled outright, forcing the 12 teams to return to Spain's Barcelona circuit after wrapping up a session there on Monday.
The decision to postpone the race, already considered a foregone conclusion in F1 circles, meant the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 27 becomes the first event on what was planned to be a record 20-round calendar.
"The Bahrain International Circuit today announced that the Kingdom of Bahrain would withdraw from hosting this year's F1 Grand Prix race so that the country can focus on its process of national dialogue," said a statement by the Bahrain Circuit authorities.
They added that Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, who is also deputy supreme commander of Bahrain's armed forces, had told Formula One's commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone in a telephone call.
Formula One's governing body, the International Automobile Federation, team bosses and drivers said they supported the move.
No decision was made on any re-scheduling, with the situation in Manama still tense.
First country
Ecclestone, key to Bahrain becoming the first country in the Middle East to host a Formula One race in 2004, sympathized.
"It is sad that Bahrain has had to withdraw from the race, we wish the whole nation well," the 80-year-old said.
"The hospitality and warmth of the people of Bahrain is a hallmark of the race there, as anyone who has been at a Bahrain Grand Prix will testify. We look forward to being back in Bahrain soon."
The race at Sakhir could be slotted in at the end of the calendar but that also poses problems, with the final grand prix currently scheduled for Brazil on November 27 after a penultimate round in Abu Dhabi on November 13.
Staging a race back-to-back with Abu Dhabi and pushing Brazil back to December might make sense geographically and logistically, although that would steal some of the thunder from Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina circuit.
Bahrain was the first race to be called off since the Pacific Grand Prix at Aida in Japan in 1995 had to be rescheduled due to a major earthquake in the region.
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