• Bahrain Grand Prix

Hopes linger Bahrain Grand Prix can be rearranged

Workers high on an office tower remove a full-length advertisement for the cancelled Bahrain Grand Prix following last week's decision to postpone the race © Press Association

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The press in the Middle East report that the Bahrain royal family are still hopeful the postponed Bahrain Grand Prix can be slotted into the Formula One calendar later in the season.

The general opinion is the schedule is too crammed in the final weeks of the season to accommodate the race, but those running the sport have close links with the royal family and have given signals they are keen to rearrange it if at all possible.

Few have been willing to come out and say the race should not be run in November - the favoured time is around the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - but several leading figures have warned it would be hard to do so.

Mercedes boss Norbert Haug has bucked the trend. " Finding the right gap in the firmly subscribed calendar is going to be a very difficult task," he said. "I don't think it's feasible. One must think first and foremost about the staff."

Bahrain's Economic Development Board chairman Shaikh Mohammed bin Isa Al Khalifa told CNN: "Bahrain is still seeking the possibility of hosting the much-awaited race later this year."

He was sanguine when comparing the cancellation with Bahrain's recent political turmoil. "Losing the grand prix is nothing compared with a stable country and a strong economy," he said. He added no F1 team had sought compensation for the situation.

At the same time, the local title sponsor Gulf Air vowed to refund tickets for flights to Bahrain for the cancelled race. But Sunil de Souza, regional travel manager for the region including the United Arab Emirates, said travellers are hopeful the grand prix will be rescheduled.

"We are hoping [the protests] will subside and the race will continue at a later date and we will carry [the bookings] forward to a later date."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.