Thaindian News

London, June 7 (IANS) Formula One (F1) boss Bernie Ecclestone has reportedly changed his stance on the controversial Bahrain Grand Prix by writing to the 12 teams to re-vote on the issue.

The FIA’s World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) met Friday in Barcelona and reinstated the Bahrain race to October, pushing the inaugural Indian Grand Prix to the season finale in December. The Bahrain race, originally scheduled in March, was postponed indefinitely in the wake of anti-government protests in the Gulf nation.

The Daily Telegraph reported that “Ecclestone has had a change of heart and written to all F1 teams urging them to express their discontent and demand a re-vote. The teams are expected to confirm by Tuesday night that they are unhappy with racing in Bahrain Oct 30.”

“The way things are at the moment, we have no idea what is going to happen,” Ecclestone said.

“Better that we move Bahrain to the end of the season and, if things are safe and well, then that is fine, we can go.

“If they are not, then we don’t go and there are no problems. We listened to that report from the FIA and that was saying there were no problems at all in Bahrain. But that is not what I am hearing and I think we can see that we need to be careful.”

The 80-year-old Ecclestone said that money was never an issue when the FIA reinstated the race and the decision was made keeping the local people in mind.

“The money makes no difference. It is there because the Bahrain people asked us to keep it. If there is no race, we will return it, but money is not the issue here. It is whether it is safe and good to have a race that is the issue. We can change this Oct 30 date by having a vote by fax if necessary. It can be done, and fast.”

Ecclestone’s stance will come as a surprise to FIA president Jean Todt, who spent Monday conducting a PR offensive in Paris, claiming that everything in Bahrain was “back to normal” and defending the decision to reinstate the race, the report said.

The drivers have already expressed their concern on racing in Bahrain.

“Even though a decision has been made, I’ll be highly surprised if the race goes ahead this year,” said Red Bull driver Mark Webber on his website.

“As a competitor I do not feel comfortable going there to compete in an event when, despite reassurances to the contrary, it seems inevitable that it will cause more tension for the people of that country,” Webber said.