The Bahrain GP will not take place in 2011
First rescheduled for October 30, the Grand Prix set to take place at the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain will not occur this year. This was announced by the organizers.
This marks the end of a saga that lasted nearly six months: the Bahrain Grand Prix will not take place in 2011. This was announced by Zayed Alzayani, head of the Sakhir circuit. It has become clear that this schedule could not be maintained. We want our role in Formula 1 to continue to be as positive and constructive as it has always been. In the best interest of the sport, we will not pursue our efforts to reschedule the race this season. We hope to welcome the teams, their drivers, and their supporters back to Bahrain next year.
This announcement follows Bernie Ecclestone’s statements, which had hinted at a setback regarding the organization of the race. « Let’s hope peace will return so we can go back in the future. But the race is not on track. The schedule cannot be changed without the agreement of the participants, » stated the F1’s chief financial officer. The president of the Formula One Management (FOM) had already pointed out that a disagreement among the teams on the calendar issue would not allow the Bahraini Grand Prix to take place.
As a reminder, the Kingdom of Bahrain was affected by the Arab Revolution as early as January 2011. This popular uprising has already resulted in several dozen deaths and hundreds of disappearances among the insurgents. Some officials or participants in Formula 1, like Mark Webber, had pointed out this situation to question the staging of the event in 2011.
Regarding the schedule, the permanent withdrawal of Bahrain leads to the return of the Indian GP on October 30 and reinstates Interlagos as the last event on the calendar on November 27. However, this must be approved by all the teams.
