2011 Bahrain Grand Prix
| Racing data | ||
|---|---|---|
| canceled race of the Formula 1 World Championship 2011 (originally with 20 races) | ||
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| Surname: | 2011 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix | |
| Date: | March 13 and October 30, 2011 | |
| Place: | as-Sachir | |
| Course: | Bahrain International Circuit | |
| Length: | 308.238 km in 57 laps of 5.412 km | |
The 2011 Bahrain Grand Prix was to take place on March 13th at the Bahrain International Circuit in as-Sachir and would have been the 1st race of the 2011 Formula 1 World Championship .
On February 21st, the race was canceled due to political unrest . Before that, a Formula 1 Grand Prix had never been canceled for political reasons.
Reports
Cancellation of the season opener
In February 2011, political protests began in Bahrain . After four deaths occurred during protests in the Bahraini capital Manama on the morning of February 17 , the GP2 Asia series canceled a race weekend planned from February 17 to 19. Since the medical staff at the track in the capital was called off, training and qualifying had to be canceled first, and finally the entire race weekend. As a result, a cancellation of the Grand Prix, which was to take place three weeks later, was not ruled out.
Since the protests did not decrease in the following days, there were discussions within the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) to move the test drives planned from March 3rd to 6th to another track. The original plan was for some team members to stay in Bahrain between the test drives and the Grand Prix weekend.
After several days of speculation by the media and teams about the cancellation of the test drives and the race, Crown Prince Salman Al Chalifa , who held 50 percent of the shares in the British racing team McLaren through a company, canceled the race on February 21. Several countries, including Germany , France , Great Britain and Switzerland , had previously advised against "unnecessary travel". The cancellation of the Bahrain Grand Prix 2011 was the first cancellation of a Formula 1 World Championship run for political reasons. Along with the cancellation of the Grand Prix, the GP2 Asia series also canceled another race weekend that was to take place as part of the supporting program.
The organizers initially left it open whether the Grand Prix would be rescheduled at a later date. In its statement, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) welcomed the fact that the race weekend had been postponed.
Postponement to October and official cancellation
On June 3rd, the FIA World Motorsport Council decided to catch up with the race on October 30th. The day before, the country's largest opposition faction had spoken out in favor of holding the Grand Prix. The FIA's decision met with some fierce criticism from human rights organizations, drivers and team bosses. Former FIA President Max Mosley wrote in a column in the Sunday Telegraph , “The decision to race is a mistake that will not be forgotten. Formula 1 will pay dearly for this unless you reverse this decision. "
On June 10, the race was officially canceled by the Bahraini organizers.
Individual evidence
- ^ "Four dead in protests in Bahrain" (tagesspiegel.de on February 17, 2011)
- ↑ "Bahrain: The unrest reaches motorsport" (Motorsport-Total.com on February 17, 2011)
- ↑ "Due to the unrest: The GP2 cancels the Bahrain event" (Motorsport-Total.com on February 17, 2011)
- ↑ "Ecclestone does not rule out Bahrain cancellation" (Motorsport-Total.com on February 17, 2011)
- ^ "Will the Bahrain test be moved to Barcelona?" (Motorsport-Total.com on February 18, 2011)
- ↑ a b "Formula 1 start in Bahrain endangered" (Motorsport-Total.com on February 17, 2011)
- ↑ a b c "Organizers cancel Formula 1 races in Bahrain" (Spiegel.de on February 21, 2011)
- ↑ “BAHRAIN WITHDRAW FROM 2011 GP2 ASIA SERIES CALENDAR” (gp2series.com on February 21, 2011)
- ^ "Formula 1 - Bahrain GP could take place at the end of the season" (Motorsport-Magazin.com on February 21, 2011)
- ^ "Formula 1 - Official: Bahrain GP will take place in 2011" (Motorsport-Total.com on June 3, 2011)
- ^ "Bahrain: track manager thanks you for understanding" (Motorsport-Total.com on June 3, 2011)
- ↑ "Mosley: Formula 1 becomes a toy of the government" (Motorsport-Total.com on June 5, 2011)
- ↑ Süddeutsche Zeitung - Internet site: “Dispute over the Bahrain race”. (No longer available online.) At: www.racingsportscars.com , archived from the original on June 11, 2011 ; Retrieved June 6, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ "Bahrain gives up: 2011 no Grand Prix!" (Motorsport-Total.com on June 10, 2011)
