Bernie Ecclestone says he will waive the near £25 million ($40m), race fee charged to Bahrain for having Formula One visit the Sakhir circuit.
This comes as political unrest within the country resulted in the cancellation of the grand prix which was set to take place in just over two weeks time.
The F1 mogul sympathised with the organisers and Crown Prince at a difficult time, saying they don’t need him ‘stabbing them in the back.’
“Nobody gains from this,” Ecclestone told the Times newspaper. “I want to be loyal to the King [of Bahrain], because he is doing everything he can to put things right with his people. He doesn’t need people like me stabbing him in the back.
“Right from the start, we talked about the problems there, and he was straight with me. I am not there and I do not know properly what problems they are having. But the King was concerned about F1 and our safety, which is why he took the decision to call off the race.”
He did add though that if it were rescheduled for later in the F1 calendar, the fee would have to be payed.
“If and when it is rescheduled they will pay their usual fee,” he added. “There’s never been an extra fee to stage the first race or the last race for that matter. We put the calendar together to suit the sport.”
