Racing on the Bahrain oval 'doable' says circuit CEO

Bahrain CEO Sheikh Salman bin Isa al-Khalifa has confessed his surprise at Formula 1 wanting to race on the 'almost oval', but says the Bahrain International Circuit is ready for whatever the sport decides.

Last week, Formula 1 managing director motorsports Ross Brawn declared interest in running a grand prix on the outer circuit of Bahrain circuit, a proposition that came as a surprise to Sheikh Salman.

"We were surprised as well by Ross's comments," the CEO told motorsport.com.

"They did say a while ago, would you open to running more than one race if we had issues in finding alternatives? That's the only thing I've had officially from F1.

"That was pretty early on, when they were trying to finalise the European races. So we said we can look into that.

"This idea of a different configuration was new, especially with the details that Ross went in to. But it's interesting, and it is doable."

The layout, Sheikh Salman revealed, has never been used for racing. Instead manufacturers such as Rolls Royce the configuration for corporate days, "where they didn't want hard braking and corners."

As explained by FIA race director Michael Masi, only Bahrain and the Dubai Autodrome, a venue never visited by Formula 1, have multiple layouts which hold the FIA grade one licences required to host a grand prix.

Sheikh Salman added: "We're still waiting for certain things to be announced. It's still broad in terms of our race and Abu Dhabi. It's still not set.

"Is it a full-on paddock, or is it half? These are questions that we're asking ourselves. We're trying to ask the government here as well. Today the laws in Bahrain haven't changed much for public events, so it's still up in the air for us.

"So there are things that would help us if we knew officially. I'm working with the government here, asking when is this going to change? And they can't answer that now.

"There are travel restrictions, there are local restrictions. There's a lot of talk around it – what will the world be like when airlines fly again? There are certain countries with a 14-day quarantine. Is that going to continue or not?

"As much as we'd like those answers quickly we also understand that it's a bit foolish to think that they can be answered now."

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