Circuit chairman Zayed Al Zayani said that was credit to the hard work of the
his staff. “I’m pleased to say we have had a great level of support for this
race weekend,” Al Zayani said.
“An independent survey released this week showed that 77 per cent of Bahrainis
support the race.
“Given these facts, and the incredible atmosphere at the track today, there
can be no doubt in my mind of what Bahrain thinks about F1.”
The Bahrain International Circuit claimed there were 28,000 paying customers
inside the circuit, a figure which attracted scepticism in the sport given
the main grandstand – which appeared to be the only one in use – was only
half-full. It was also noted that the sample size of the survey referred to
was only 512.
Teams and drivers were generally relieved to head for the airport on Sunday
night. Red Bull’s Mark Webber admitted: “I’m looking forward to getting on a
plane. It’s time to go back to Europe. I am pleased the weekend is over.
There should be no real celebrations today. We can leave. We saw the size of
the crowd today.”
His team-mate and race winner Sebastian Vettel – heavily criticised for a joke
he made last Thursday referring to the troubles in Bahrain as over-hyped –
said it had been a difficult weekend.
“It is not easy,” said the world champion. “It’s not as if you don’t have eyes
and ears. You are aware of what’s going on. You read the same stuff as
everyone else and you see the pictures. I am very happy and relieved that so
far nothing has happened. Hopefully, we come back in the future when
everything’s a little bit safer.”
Meanwhile, Ecclestone says a deal has been reached that will mean the French
Grand Prix returns to the calendar next year at Paul Ricard, a circuit he
owns.
“The deal is done,” Ecclestone said. “We actually agreed on financial terms
with the sports minister, David Douillet, in my office last Tuesday. We are
still discussing a few points about money around the race, ‘You give me
this, I want that’ and so on. but, for me, there is no doubt that we will
sort it all out.”
The announcement has met with muted enthusiasm from fans because the race at
Paul Ricard is planned to alternate with the much-loved, but loss-making
Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.