Formula One to skip Bahrain due to ongoing anti-government protests

Formula One skips Bahrain race

Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone confirmed today that the Bahrain Grand Prix will not be held on March 13 as originally planned because of security concerns brought by intense street protests there. Ecclestone did not specify an alternative date for the race in this troubled Gulf state.

The 2011 Formula One season will now begin with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 27.

In a statement, Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad said his country needs to prioritize fixing the tense situation there. "We felt it was important for the country to focus on immediate issues of national interest and leave the hosting of Bahrain's Formula 1 race to a later date," the Crown Prince said.

Civil unrest over unemployment and political rights have already toppled long-entrenched leaders of other Arab states Tunisia and Egypt. Since former Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak stepped down, more Arabs across the Middle East have been emboldened and have been holding massive and sometimes violent protests in Bahrain, Yemen, Algeria and Libya.

"It is clear that to race in Bahrain at this time would be inappropriate given the current circumstances," Williams F-1 team chairman Adam Parr said in a statement.

The Bahrain Grand Prix has been held in a new $150 million track facility south of the country's capital Manama since 2004. Ecclestone said that it was a "sad" decision by Bahrain to withdraw from the opening race of the season but he expressed optimism that F-1 will soon race in the oil-rich kingdom.

The decision was supported by Federation Internationale de I'Automobile, the governing body of Formula One.

Posted by Andre Monohan on Tuesday February 22 2011, 4:27 AM EST. Ref: Bloomberg. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0