Bahrain’s Crown Prince on Friday ruled out cancelling the troubled island kingdom’s grand prix.

“I think cancelling just empowers extremists,” he told reporters, whilst standing alongside F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone.

Pressure on the race organisers, Ecclestone and the FIA to cancel the race has only intensified after Force India and Sauber revealed their brushes with petrol bombs.

“I can absolutely guarantee that any problems that may or may not happen are not directed at F1,” the Crown Prince insisted.

Ecclestone, meanwhile, pointed his finger at the media.

“There are other countries much higher up the priority list you should be writing about,” he told the scrum of reporters.

“Go to Syria and write about those things there because it’s more important than here.”

When asked about the violent clashes between Bahraini protesters and the police, Ecclestone said: “It’s a lot of nonsense. You guys love it.”

However, he did admit that going ahead with the race is “a little bit silly” for the Bahrain government because it gives the protesters “such an incredible platform”.

With F1 currently scheduled to arrive en masse in Bahrain next week, a crisis surrounding the possible cancellation of the island Kingdom’s race is continuing to deepen.

The teams have now denied Bernie Ecclestone’s claim that they can simply choose to skip the event.

“That would not be possible,” said a statement issued by the teams association FOTA. “Teams are unable to cancel (a) grand prix.”

Bahrain, meanwhile, stepped up its campaign, accusing some of deploying “scare-mongering tactics” designed to force the race’s cancellation.

The race organisers released a report conducted by Lotus, following the Enstone based team’s recent reconnaissance mission to Bahrain.

“We came away from Bahrain feeling a lot more confident that everything is in hand,” Lotus is quoted as having reported.

The team, however, reacted angrily, accusing the organisers of having released a “confidential” document.

“Lotus F1 Team is one of 12 contestants of the … world championship and we would never try to substitute ourselves for the FIA”, said the Enstone based team.

Surmised Times correspondent Kevin Eason on Twitter: “(It’s) getting messy…”

At the same time, F1 chief executive Ecclestone became fully immersed in the political situation on Tuesday, reporteding personally phoning Bahrain’s crown prince to express concern about the jailed hunger striker.

An Amnesty International report published this week had called for Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja’s release, amid claims he is now close to death and being force-fed.

But the Bahrain government, through its information affairs authority, insisted that only police and rioters are being injured in “infrequent and remote clashes”.

Also weighing into the argument was Sir Jackie Stewart, the eloquent triple world champion, who said: “I would go.

“The commercial rights holder has sold a package, at a price, and it is part of the constructors’ agreement that they attend the races that have been published,” he told the Guardian.

“As a team owner I would have to honour my agreement both orally and legally.”

Whatever happens, the Bahrain saga – stretching back now over a year – is not good news for the future of the island Kingdom’s calendar spot.

“Maybe we wouldn’t renew it (the contract),” Ecclestone admitted to the BBC. “We’ll have to look and see.”

Bernie Ecclestone has admitted F1 teams will breach their contracts if they do not race in Bahrain next weekend.

Earlier, as the controversy surrounding the sport’s continued plans to travel to the troubled island Kingdom deepens, an unnamed team boss admitted his peers would prefer if the event was called off.

The Times newspaper then quoted F1 chief executive Ecclestone as saying that “If the teams don’t want to go, then we cannot make them”.

“We’ve no way we can force people to go there,” he also told the PA Sport news agency on Tuesday.

But in actual fact, teams are contractually bound to race at each event on the F1 calendar, with breaches punishable by exclusion from the sport.

“We can’t say ‘you’ve got to go’ – although they would be in breach of their agreement with us if they didn’t go – but it doesn’t help,” the 81-year-old clarified.

“Commercially they have to go, but whether they decide to or not is up to them,” said Ecclestone.

“I’ve had no one say anything other than ‘we’re going to be racing in Bahrain’.”

He said the local race organisers, and the national sanctioning body, are the ones that could cancel the race.

F1′s governing body, meanwhile, is the FIA.

“I’ve spoken to (FIA president) Mr (Jean) Todt,” Ecclestone revealed, “we keep in close contact, and he’s going out there (to China), so we’ll have a chat then, and we always meet with the teams.”

It also emerged on Tuesday that Ecclestone has phoned Dr Ala’a Shehabi, a prominent Bahraini journalist and activist.

She revealed that Ecclestone wants Bahrain’s government opposition to “have a press conference” at the grand prix “in which opposition can get their message across”.

Shehabi said Ecclestone is “very concerned” about the situation in Bahrain, including the fate of human rights activist Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, who amid his hunger strike in jail is said to be close to death.

Teams are making preparations just in case the Bahrain grand prix is called off at the last minute.

That is the claim of Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, reporting that the teams could put their back-up plans into action even as late as the Sunday in China — mere days before they are expected to be at Sakhir.

In London this week, F1 chief executive and team bosses stood side by side with Bahrain circuit officials, insisting the race will go ahead despite defiant speculation to the contrary.

But Auto Motor und Sport reveals that the teams will also be ready if the plug is indeed pulled at the last minute — for example, their freight would go not from Shanghai to Bahrain, but back to Europe via Dubai.

And the report also said tickets have been reserved for the teams’ travelling staff, in the event they do not have to hop directly to the island Kingdom.

Michael Schumacher, however, insists he is not worried about going to Bahrain.

“I’m pretty relaxed, honestly,” said the seven time world champion.

“From our perspective, we’re going to be very well looked after, because they (the race organisers) might foresee whatever and be prepared.

“I’m pretty sure we’re going to be ok,” added Schumacher.

 Bernie Ecclestone has played down the controversy over the future of Australia’s grand prix by daring organisers to walk away from the sport.
“When the contract comes up, they don’t have to renew,” the F1 chief executive, speaking from London, told local Fairfax Radio ahead of the 2012 Melbourne race.

“That is the nice thing. We are not going to force anyone into doing anything because we can’t.”

The current contract expires in 2015, and Ecclestone has offered to ease the taxpayers’ burden if race organisers agree to host the race at night, to better service Europe’s live television audience.

But the 81-year-old Briton is also furious, after a federal politician for the ruling Labor Party scorned the millions paid to Ecclestone in order to bankroll the billionaire’s flamboyant “bogan” daughter Tamara.

“Who was the halfwit that said these things?” Ecclestone told 3AW radio.

“You’re not a communist state there, are you? Any money that my children have got, they didn’t steal.

“I’d like him to say what he said to me face to face.”

The latest spat is yet another threat to the highly popular Albert Park race, with Ecclestone surmising: “From all the things I read that the government say, I don’t think that they want to continue.”

Australian driver Mark Webber hopes the race has a future.

“I don’t think it’s a gain to lose it, put it that way,” he said.

“It was successful in Adelaide and in Melbourne as well and it would be brilliant to keep it here for a long time yet.”

Bernie Ecclestone has expressed frustration with the attitude of Australia’s formula one race organisers.
The F1 chief executive is pushing for the Melbourne race, with a contract through 2015, to be held at night for a more favourable live timeslot back in Europe.

He may even be offering a fee subsidy, but formula one remains controversial within the Victorian state parliament, with taxpayers footing $50 million bills annually.

Ecclestone has reacted by offering to sit down and negotiate an early end to the Albert Park deal.

“If the government wanted to, we could certainly come to some terms, I suppose,” he told the Sunday Herald Sun from London.

81-year-old Ecclestone reportedly wants the government, led by premier Ted Baillieu, to come clean about his plans for the future.

“It would just be nice for somebody to say to me ‘Bernie, definitely, 100 per cent, we don’t want to renew our contract’,” he said.

So Ecclestone reportedly warned that Baillieu should begin talks now if he wants to keep the sport in Melbourne.

The premier’s spokesman reportedly said the government will not ‘take an open chequebook’ to the negotiations.

F1′s governing body is seeking to solve a visa problem ahead of the Chinese grand prix next month.

The Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat reports that the visa documentation for many of the sport’s travelling personnel is late.

After the FIA’s head of communications Matteo Bonciani wrote to Shanghai race organiser Juss Event this week, the reply admitted that the visa application process for 2011 “will be a little time-consuming”.

“Once we get the notice from the Shanghai foreign affair office, we will immediately inform the applicants,” the letter added.

The letter also said visa invitation letters have been sent to Chinese embassies and consulates “as far as I know”.

The lead attorney for the US grand prix promoter has denied reports the Austin track will not be ready for its scheduled 2012 race debut.

An official document that emerged this week showed that the expected build time for the Austin circuit, with construction set to begin in December, is 24 months.

But lawyer Richard Suttle, representing race organiser Tavo Hellmund, said the project is still right on schedule.

Indeed, at a meeting of the City of Austin’s environmental board on Wednesday, the first approvals for the circuit’s plans were granted.

“This project is on track, it’s on schedule with the help from the city and the county that we’ve (received),” Suttle told local KVUE News.

“We’ve been able to stay on track and we’re definitely on schedule, if not ahead,” he added.

Korea’s new formula one circuit is almost complete, an official of the Yeongam venue has revealed.

Speculation has dogged the inaugural event due to construction delays and an unusually late FIA inspection scheduled for the day after Sunday’s Japanese grand prix — just 11 days prior to opening practice in Korea.

But race organiser KAVO’s communication boss Kim Jae-ho has revealed to the Korea Times newspaper that construction “is now 98 to 99 per cent complete”.

The last crucial element is the top layer of surface asphalt, with other less important things likely to go unfinished.

“The inspection team may put first priority on safety and appropriateness of the race track ahead of other factors such as cleanliness and makeshift stands,” Kim admitted.

Work on the final surface layer began on Tuesday and will take six days — exactly the time available until Charlie Whiting arrives at the venue direct from Suzuka.

“Before the inspection the only thing left to do is working on the surface of the track,” Kim confirmed.

F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone said two weeks ago that allowing Korea to miss its original inspection date is “quite dangerous”, but the newspaper report said some other circuits have been in the same situation.

“We also tried to keep the date,” Kim explained.

“For us, the toughest factor was weather.  It rained too much.  It was totally different from past seasons.

“Frankly speaking, we (Korea) have little experience in building race tracks.  However, despite the postponed construction, the track and venue will provide the perfect circumstances for the race,” he promised.

According to the International Sporting Code, F1′s governing body should already have approved or rejected the new South Korea circuit ahead of its inaugural grand prix.

Instead, the venue has been given until September 21 to prepare for Charlie Whiting’s final inspection, with a FIA spokesman admitting “a lot of work remains to be completed” at the Yeongam site, according to the Telegraph.

Appendix O of the Code says the final inspection for a permanent venue should take place “not later than 90 days before the first international event to be held” there.

If adhered to, Korea’s final inspection should have taken place at the end of July, given its late October race date.

And if a circuit fails its final inspection, the sporting regulations state that the event “will not be considered for inclusion in the following year’s championship unless the FIA judges the cancellation to have been due to force majeure”.

Countering ongoing speculation about the state of the site, race organisers have released some photos showing completed buildings and an apparently freshly-laid track surface.

But other, unofficial photos recently did the rounds showing that aspects of the venue are far from complete.

However, the Telegraph’s Tom Cary said the FIA is “satisfied” with progress.

Indian driver Karun Chandhok is currently on his way to the east Asian state, where on Saturday he is scheduled to drive Red Bull’s demo car around the circuit.

Event organisers KAVO insist the venue is “90 per cent” complete.