Bahrain: Unpredictable events

The season was initially scheduled to start on March 13 in Bahrain, but protests in Manama forced the country to cancel the Grand Prix. A situation that no one could have predicted, maintains Bernie Ecclestone in an interview on the website of the F1. " Very shortly before the crisis, I had lunch with Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa and there was no sign of the events that were about to unfold. He presented me with several ideas for the future, then the demonstrations came a few days later. We only had a short time to react because we needed a decision before February 21 and I told him about it. ».

« He asked me what I would do in his place, and I replied: “You are at home. In Europe, we can hardly have a serious judgment. Decide what is best for your country.” So he canceled the Grand Prix and I think it was the right decision to make. It was not easy for him because it was Formula 1 that put Bahrain on a map. Before 2004, no one knew ».

Since the announcement that the kick-off would be given in Australia on March 27, the organizer and certain teams with major interests in the Gulf have been looking for solutions to find another date in the calendar. In Sakhir, even in Europe. “ We don?t need a replacement race in Europe or elsewhere. We need a race in Bahrain. If the Prince considers that his country has regained stability to host the race, then we will return., says Ecclestone. But to reschedule the event, the FIA ​​would have to modify the calendar and the country would have to fill out a file again. With FIA President Jean Todt, we have already discussed finding another date and we both agreed that a decision must be made before the start of the season. ».

Before the cancellation was definitively pronounced, the rumor spread and criticism arose about the silence adopted by the FIA ​​in the face of the events. “ F1 must not play politics, corrects the big financier. My job is to ensure that we find the best agreements for our company in order to guarantee jobs. 5000 people have a job directly or indirectly linked to F1 and I want to save these positions. It?s not my business to do politics. We have politicians for that He concluded.