Bernie Ecclestone says teams will have the final say over whether they compete in the F1 Bahrain Grand Prix. Ecclestone was speaking on Tuesday after learning of the latest outbreak of violence in the troubled country in which seven policemen were injured in a bomb attack.
Last year's Bahrain GP was postponed in the wake of anti-government protests that resulted in deaths, before being cancelled completely. The 2012 event – race day is scheduled for 22 April – has been shrouded in controversy due to the clashes.
Ecclestone said there were commercial reasons why teams should take part but admitted he could not force individuals to participate.
"We've no way we can force people to go there," he said. "We can't say 'you've got to go' – although they would be in breach of their agreement with us if they didn't go – but it doesn't help. Commercially they have to go, but whether they decide to or not is up to them. I've had no one say anything other than 'we're going to be racing in Bahrain'."
Although he was unaware of the exact details of the bomb explosion in Eker, a Shia village outside the capital Manama, he said that, at this stage, the race is still on.
"Yes, if the people in Bahrain are happy that they can run the event," he said. "We're not involved in any of the politics in Bahrain, over who is right or wrong. When you go to somebody's country you have to respect exactly how they run their country and the laws of that country."
