Ecclestone waives Bahrain fee 24/02/2011 |
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Bernie Ecclestone has revealed that organisers of the Bahrain Grand Prix will not be charged the race fee after their decision to call off the event.
The crown prince of Bahrain, Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, announced on Monday (February 21) that the season-opening race, which had been scheduled to take place on March 13, would not be held due to the ongoing political unrest in the Gulf kingdom.
It was widely believed Bahrain would still have to pay the annual staging fee of £25m, but Ecclestone has now confirmed it will not have to pay a penny.
"The fee that is normally being paid for the event is not being paid," Formula 1's commercial rights holder told the Daily Telegraph.
"I am not charging them for a race they are not getting. Whether they are covered by their insurers for loss of revenues, ticket sales etc, I am not sure.
"But if anything is force majeure then that [the political unrest] is. It is similar to if an earthquake had struck – no-one could have foreseen that a month ago."
Ecclestone has also stated that if peace returns to Bahrain, then he will try his best to fit the race into the F1 calendar later this year.
A senior FIA official later said that a rescheduled race might be held in close proximity to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix towards the end of the season.
Although there is little room for manoeuvre in what is already a crowded calendar, one suggestion is to squeeze the race between the Abu Dhabi and Brazil races, potentially pushing the latter back to the first weekend in December.
It had been thought that Abu Dhabi organisers would not be keen on their near neighbours staging a race so close to their own, for fear of a loss of revenue and exposure.
However, Mohammed ben Sulayem, vice-president of the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) and president of the Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE, believes that "finding time in the calendar is feasible".
Speaking to The National newspaper, ben Sulayem said: "Originally, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain agreed to have a big separation on the calendar to make the most of the exposure that a grand prix brings.
"However, this is an emergency and in an emergency we need to work together."
The WMSC is due to stage its first meeting of the year next week when Bahrain is likely to be top of the agenda.
However, Ben Sulayem has confirmed a new date will only be found if Bahrain formally requests a new slot – something that might not happen given the ongoing crisis in the country.
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