The Bahraini king has vowed to introduce reforms after claiming to be
“shocked” by the brutality uncovered by the inquiry. And Ecclestone said he
had faith in Bahrain’s rulers.
“They have internal politics and I doubt very much whether they’d use
international matters to sort out internal politics,” he said.
Asked what he would do if trouble flared up again next year ahead of the race,
which is scheduled for 22 April, Ecclestone said: “I’d wait and see
what happened and then decide.
“Up to now they’ve done everything they said they were going to do.”
And questioned on the risk of the sport being drawn into another long-winded
saga with a similar conclusion, he said: “Maybe we should have gone
this year.”
Meanwhile, Ecclestone has repeated his assertion that next November’s
inaugural United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, is unlikely to go ahead.
Organisers the Circuit of the Americas announced on Thursday that they would
pay a sanctioning fee for next year’s race as long as Ecclestone accepted
revisions to the contract.
“We have been ready to send Mr. Ecclestone a sanctioning fee check for
some time now,” claimed Bobby Epstein, founding partner of Circuit of
The Americas, in a statement.
“He hasn’t received it yet because the new contract presented to us two
weeks ago contained unrealistic and unfeasible demands.
“We have signed and returned a contract similar to what we anticipated
receiving. This race should be a reality, but if we are going to make the
2012 race date, we must receive a counter-signature in the coming few days.”
Asked at the Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo, where Formula One has gathered
for the final grand prix of the year, whether he thought the Texas race might
now happen, Ecclestone was dismissive.
“I doubt it,” the 81 year-old said. “The truth is they’re not
complying with the terms and conditions of the contract. And as we make the
contract, we will award the event or not award the event.”
Asked whether his contract was really “unrealistic and unfeasible”,
Ecclestone replied: “Yeah, well they shouldn’t sign it. My advice to
them is don’t sign it. And they probably won’t get the opportunity.”