Bernie Ecclestone has played down the latest reports about violence in Bahrain, insisting April’s 2012 race is still scheduled to go ahead.<\/p>\n
On the one-year anniversary of the ‘Day of Rage’ unrest, international media agencies claimed violent clashes took place, with youths throwing rocks and petrol bombs and police hitting back with tear-gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades.<\/p>\n
“The only message I got was that there were some kids in trouble with the police,” F1 chief executive Ecclestone told the Telegraph.<\/p>\n
“We are planning to go.\u00a0 People there seem confident that a race two months away will be alright.”<\/p>\n
At the Jerez test last week, it was suggested teams were expressing concerns about Bahrain.<\/p>\n
But Ecclestone insists: “The teams are not the slightest bit concerned.\u00a0 They seem happy that things will go ahead without problems.<\/p>\n
“Last year was a more clear-cut decision not to go but things have changed a lot since then.”<\/p>\n
In recent days, however, F1 has been the subject of a high profile row about the event, with influential figures and political parties publicly debating whether the sport is right or wrong to return to Bahrain.<\/p>\n
“We’ve always been non-political,” said Ecclestone, 81.\u00a0 “Any decision will be made on grounds of safety.”<\/p>\n
But an FIA spokesman said the “staging of a grand prix would be beneficial in bridging some of the difficulties Bahrain is experiencing”.<\/p>\n
And a spokesman for the Bahrain International Circuit told CNN: “We are entirely confident that the race can be and will be an excellent event.<\/p>\n
“The FIA has said that there is no reason why the grand prix should not go ahead.”<\/p>\n
The unnamed spokesman also compared Bahrain’s problems of the last twelve months with London’s riots last August.<\/p>\n
“There’s no doubt that (in Bahrain) there have been some small riots, nothing like on the scale that we saw in London,” he insisted.<\/p>\n
“When it comes to being in and around the track, the drivers and the teams will be extremely safe.\u00a0 Absolutely, totally confident about that.”<\/p>\n
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