Ecclestone now looking to hold Bahrain race at end of season

2011 Bahrain Grand Prix

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Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Bahrain, 2010

Bernie Ecclestone has abandoned his plan to hold the Bahrain Grand Prix in August in favour of a slot next to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Ecclestone told the BBC “I’m hoping beyond hope things settle peacefully and we find a slot later in the year.

“If there is peace in Bahrain then we will be there, we will find a way.”

Just two days ago Ecclestone said he was planning to hold the race in August, one of the hottest months of the year in Bahrain.

He now intends to hold the race the week after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which may mean moving the Brazilian Grand Prix back by a week.

The Abu Dhabi race organisers have already said they’re willing to have their race next to the Bahrain event on the calendar.

2011 Bahrain Grand Prix

    Image © Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo

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    Keith Collantine
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    43 comments on “Ecclestone now looking to hold Bahrain race at end of season”

    1. i am for it. Let’s go racing for god’s sake. The withdraw syptoms are to strong.

      1. If the situation improves, I don’t see why not.

        1. It won’t improve until the royal family is gone…. I suspect Bernie is dreaming, if I was him I would be more concerned about Abu Dhabi still being there at the end of the season.

    2. As this is just one day before all or most FOTA bosses see each other at the testing, I suppose they will be in contact to agree amongst them on what terms they would agree to it.

      So we can have Bernie and the teams agree on something by the end of the weekend.

      We’ll see how it pans out. Surely this makes more sense from a climate point of view. And it gives Bahrain a better chance to get everything sorted in the country without the circus interupting.

      1. As this is just one day before all or most FOTA bosses see each other at the testing…

        What? Testing doesn’t start up again until next Tuesday. Maybe I misunderstood what you’re saying.

    3. I read somewhere that the Crown Prince bungs FOM $30million to host the race. That’s the only thing you need to know as to why Bernie is so keen to run it at any cost. No moral considerations will sway him, he says that Bahrain has ‘gone quiet on tv’ so it must be ok. China is quiet on tv, but you wouldn’t want to know what kind of human rights abuses go on there. I’m just surprised he delayed it from August, as he wouldn’t care what temperature it was in the cars, as long as he gets that cash.

      1. Yep this is Bernie

      2. Don’t be a hypocrite. Every product you buy has been made in China.

        1. That’s no excuse to stop caring about what goes on there….

        2. QuantumSoul_IX (@)
          3rd March 2011, 15:19

          Many people would be glad to pay more for those products if they weren’t made in China。

          1. Absolutely.
            But many more people just don’t bother thinking about the real price that’s being paid so that they can buy cheap things.

          2. alabac@yahoo.com
            3rd March 2011, 16:15

            is not that you are paying less because they are made in china. They are making more because of that.

          3. Nope. They wouldn’t. They say that they would, but when pushing comes to shove, money conquers faith and love. Or to say it differentely, once people would’ve actually had to pay more, you would see them moaning without end.

            1. Poverty is the greatest of all human rights offences, yet countries like the USA and the UK spend billions more on their military than they do feeding hungry people in Africa. Why don’t you protest against those two counties as well?

              Hypocrites.

            2. Steve, people do protest against the UK and the US because of that…
              And many people give donations from their own income, volunteer with aid organisations etc. to make up for the failings of their government.

            3. Are we really going down this road?

              No, most people would rather have the cheap option, because most people actually don’t care enough. But some do and if they want the option, give them it.

              And if we get attacked in the distant future, I sure as hell won’t think it was all worth it to support an unsustainable growth in third-world population.

          4. Not entirely true. There is some economics in it here. On many products your looking at double of price or even more. Look around you and find anything that is say UK made or US made in your office or house. Start looking at all the things around you that is “made in china”. Figure out how much money is invested there. Now double that figure. Could you afford that? Probably not so start peeling the layers here what could you live without and now factor how much the cost of that is. Can you still afford all that stuff?

            There are US made products for example, but generally today the only products available are the top of the line products. Where the cheapest product is more expensive then some of the more expensive China product brands.

            I enjoy buying domestically made products but when I can but there is a limit here how much my wallet can take. People complain or think a $800 iPad is to much. Estimation would be a bit over $2k if it was a US built/assembled product. It’s US “made”. I dunno. People like their trinkets, gadgets and junk and for most people the wallet mades the purchasing decision for them. In certain cases they do make a decision based on heart when it’s something for longevity such as a car or sturdy furnish piece.
            Example Toyotas best move years back to grab such a large market piece in the US was the create US factory and not only just do assembly but even manufacturing in the US, than they could badge it US manufactured, and the pushed this hard and it paid off they grabbed more pieces of the market after this. But the price of the car also went up.

      3. Will Holdsworth
        3rd March 2011, 14:42

        Its quiet on TV but its not in the least Quite over there. My Dad lives over there and has been there for the last 27 years. The King gave every Bahrain familly £2k as a bribe to calm down. The took the cash and carried on protesting. They are still camping out on Pearl Roundabout (not square as its been called by the media)

        Saudi are due to start the same thing on Sunday. If they do this, you watch the fuel prices go up!

        1. “watch the fuel prices go up” They can hardly be considered as low at the moment…!

      4. *makes car noises* vrooooooooooom!!!

    4. I’m all for another race, but the proposed timing is rubbish. Just have three weeks of F1, no pushing it a week further on.

      1. As far as I remember pushing back Brazilian Grand Prix one week would make it fall in the same date of the last round of Brazil’s national soccer championship. I don’t think the sponsors/organizers will like it.

        1. Surely we have to think of fans who may have bought tickets for the GP dates we are pushing around everywhere!

          If I had bought tickets for the Brazilian GP and booked a holiday the week after, so couldn’t make the GP the next week, then i’d be fuming!

          We need to consider those who have bought tickets!

          1. and its not just tickets, but hotel costs, Travel (which isnt exactly cheap), booked the time off from work. It all adds up and lots of that might cost extra to re-arrange/cancel it.

            I think Bernie and the Crown Prince must be the only people in the world that really want the race to happen. The easiest way is cancel the GP, refund the fans. Refund Bahrain and tell him to use the money to help his country and get on with the season.

      2. Yeah I agree

        the final 3 races of the season on 3 consecutive weekends will be great for one and all. Yes maybe a bit hard logistically for the teams but thats what they do! they made it from Brazil to Abu Dhabi in a week last year so there’s no reason why they couldn’t achieve this given that Bahrain is within spitting distance of Abu Dhabi… the cars could just go straight on after the chequered flag and drive there :) would be fun!!!

    5. it should be on the weekend between the Indian Grand Prix and Abu Dhabi because india is closer to Bahrain than Brazil and would be easier for the team to do 3 weeks in a row with india, bahrain and abu dhabi than with brazil

    6. I wish Bernie would stop trying to mess around with the calendar. Just leave Bahrain alone for this year, and wait for 2012.

    7. I hope it does not go ahead at all. Lets face it the bahrain gp is a boring track that wont really be missed. To put it near the end of the season would not be a good idea

      1. somerandomguy
        3rd March 2011, 23:39

        I agree there doesn’t even need to be a Bahrain GP! Such a boring sparse track with terrible racing!

    8. Since nothing else is being held that week I can’t see why it would be so hard to organise. Just somebody decide, tell everyone else and off you go.

      Too many people talking doesn’t get much done, I like my company, gather the opinion and then make an informed decision and off we go.

    9. And now he’s also talking about computer generated rain to make dull races more interesting. Seriously? First winners’ medals, then cutting corners and now this. I know he’s done some great thnigs for the sport but come on.

    10. Robert McKay
      3rd March 2011, 16:20

      Perhaps it’s the case that Bahrain is only quiet on TV because Libya’s much noisier…

      1. The Libyan grand prix has been pushed back until next year.

    11. why don’t they have it in the summer break cause they get two weeks off because of the Bahrain suspension anyway.

      or

      they could put it in after abu dhabi or before it because it is close rather than going all the way to Brazil and back to Bahrain

      1. Sadly they don’t have it off, they are all hard at work in the factory, unlike in the summer break.

        It has to slot in where there is no race at the moment, otherwise it will mess up everyone’s original plans for the last two races

    12. I wont be watching it if it is on. Thats for certain.

      I have some paint to watch drying, in addition to the fact that I think its wildly innapropriate for this to happen at all in 2011.

      Good old bernie, if the country is rich enough they’ll take the money, at the expense of jeopardising actual great race tracks (i.e ones that provide good racing), no questions asked.

      As an extension to that you have to wonder how long before we see Spa or another great circut under threat because they’re being priced out of the marketplace.

    13. A reasonable plan “B” if everything is stable in the country by then.

    14. So that would put the last race of the season in December? Best Christmas present ever!

      Holding it towards the end of the season seems more sensible to me. I could see alot of people not taking too kindly to losing the summer holiday. And rightfully so.

    15. Bernie is getting insane: now he wants artificial rain periods during races: (in french)
      http://www.lequipe.fr/Formule1/breves2011/20110303_153449_ecclestone-veut-faire-pleuvoir.html

    16. Just let it go Bernie!

      1. somerandomguy
        3rd March 2011, 23:40

        Yes 19 races is enough there doesn’t need to be a Bahrain GP. Bernie just wants his money.

        1. Yeah if you can’t at the end of the day let it go, 19 races will do.

          He have let go the fine I wonder whether he will let go the fees of hosting a GP,it will be tough for him to cancel the GP.

    17. Moving it somewhere around Abu Dhabi is the best decision as that time the weather will be good also it will cost them less as they will now have two back to back races.

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