• Bahrain unrest

Bahrain cancellation rumours circulate

Unconfirmed reports emanating in the Middle East late on Sunday say the Bahrain Grand Prix will be postponed as a result of the ongoing political unrest in the state. The Gulf News quoted unnamed sources as saying some teams had already started making alternative plans and had cancelled flights.

Associated Press said the Crown Prince, who Bernie Ecclestone said would make the final call, has also come under increasing pressure to cancel the grand prix.

"The race has been the prince's dream since he was a child," a protestor told AP. "He wants to negotiate so he can fulfill this dream, and it makes me sad that his dream is more dear to him than the needs of his people. The F1 is a big festival for us, too, and I love it. But our demands are worth sacrificing the race for."

Another said: "His precious Formula One is more important than the blood of his people which he spilled. We put pressure on the Formula 1 contract, the crown prince got scared and now he wants to negotiate."

Meanwhile, the teams are set to hold another meeting at the end of the last day of testing at Barcelona on Monday night to decide whether the final round of testing in Bahrain, which is due to start on March 3, can go ahead. The teams claim it is not possible to delay deciding if the tests can proceed as they have to start sending equipment to Bahrain this week.

Organisers are believed to have contacted administrators at Barcelona and Jerez to sound them out about them stepping in to stage the tests at short notice.

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