The Bahrain Grand Prix will go ahead, Formula One’s world governing body says, with the race just over a week away.
The FIA on Friday said on its website it had taken into account concerns over safety after more than a year of pro-democracy demonstrations in the Gulf state.
“Based on the current information the FIA has at this stage, it is satisfied that all the proper security measures are in place for the running of a Formula One World Championship event in Bahrain,” the statement said.
The event in Bahrain was the hottest topic of conversation in Shanghai, which hosts the third grand prix of the season on Sunday.
The FIA and many drivers had earlier tried to get the focus back on the Chinese Grand Prix but the fate of the Gulf race would not go away.
“So, Bahrain?” Red Bull’s Australian driver Mark Webber said, unprompted, to open his media briefing.
“There’s no beating around the bush – it is sensitive out there,” he said, attempting to pick his words carefully.
“We can only go on what the FIA are reading into the situation and obviously we are putting in an enormous amount of trust – I don’t mean ‘we’ the drivers. I’m talking about you guys, photographers, caterers, everybody.”
The FIA last year postponed the Bahrain race before removing it from last season’s schedule over the demonstrations.
The Gulf state says the situation is calm and the race would be a chance for Bahrain to unite, but ongoing protests and violence, including a bomb attack on Monday that wounded seven policemen, had put the event in jeopardy again.
The teams were reportedly keen not to take part but said they could not make the decision to cancel the race and were looking for the FIA to tell them what to do.
Webber, 35, said there were moral and safety considerations – demonstrators have claimed they will target the race – to take into account.
“It has been distracting. Trying to give a fair and correct position on Bahrain with you guys is something that I try to be fair with and you want to get that right.
“It’s an unusual position for a grand prix driver to be put in.”