F1 chiefs powerless to force teams to Bahrain

London: Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone admitted today that he was unable to force teams to participate in this month`s Bahrain Grand Prix following a fresh outbreak of violence in the Gulf state.

Formula One teams are reportedly reluctant to race in Bahrain this season amid ongoing concerns over security in the country. Last year`s event was postponed following violent anti-government protests before eventually being removed from the schedule altogether. Now Ecclestone has confirmed that the fate of this year`s event on April 22 could be decided by the teams as authorities in Bahrain confirmed seven policeman were injured late on Monday in a bomb attack. "We`ve no way we can force people to go there," Ecclestone 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.`" Ecclestone added that, as far as he was concerned, this year`s race was 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 laws of that country.” "The National Sporting Authority in that country are the people who can say, `Well, we think we`d prefer not to run the event.` "The promoter can also say, `We don`t want it because there is too much risk.` "We`ve an agreement with (governing body) the FIA that Bahrain is a round of the world championship, and we`ve a contract with the promoters, but I want to make clear it`s nothing to do with finance." Bureau Report