FOTA does not want to go to Bahrain on October 30

The information comes to us from Autosport as there has been no official statement on the association of teams’ website. Nonetheless, the letter is said to have been sent to the FIA, Bernie Ecclestone’s FOM, and the Bahrain event organizers. The perspective defended by the teams is that it is better to wait as long as possible before traveling to the Kingdom because the more time passes, the higher the chances that everything will go smoothly.

This point of view was not a big surprise for Bernie Ecclestone, as he stated a few hours earlier in an interview with the Times: « At the moment, we have no idea what will happen. It is preferable to move Bahrain to the end of the season. If security is assured, then everything will be fine and we will go. If not, we won’t go, and there is no problem. We can change this October 30 date by having a vote, by fax if necessary. » The F1 financial chief has once again made one of his countless U-turns, as he was one of the main advocates for postponing the deadline initially set for early May, and then for the reintroduction of the event.

But above all, the FIA may have violated its own regulations by making this calendar change without the unanimous and written agreement of the parties involved, as required by Article 66 of the international sporting code, according to which « No modifications shall be made to the Supplementary Regulations after the opening of entries, except with the unanimous agreement of all already registered competitors or unless decided by the stewards for reasons of force majeure or safety. » Moreover, beyond the deplorable image F1 could have by moving to Bahrain, it is precisely the safety of the teams, drivers, and spectators that is at stake if the Formula One Circus moves to the Kingdom.

We will see if all this commotion will have concrete consequences or if economic interests will prevail over all other considerations.

With the participation of RacingBusiness.fr