Bernie Ecclestone made a last-ditch bid to save the Bahrain Grand Prix shortly before the event organisers conceded it was impossible, the FIA revealed on Friday.
Ecclestone, the commercial ring-master of the sport, wanted to move the race from October 30 to December 4, rather than take it off the calendar, according to a detailed time-line of the unfolding fiasco published on the FIA website.
In this, it said: "The commercial rights holder (FOWCL) proposed to the FIA that the GP of Bahrain be rescheduled for 4 December, with the GP of India reinstated on its original date of 30 October.
"The FIA replied the same day, asking FOWCL to provide guarantees that any new date proposal is acceptable both to the teams and to the organisers in Bahrain."
This revelation adds a new twist to the story of how the race, originally scheduled to open the season, then postponed because of the violence and civil unrest in Bahrain, was brought back to the calendar last Friday, but without the support of the teams.
It also makes Ecclestone's actions more transparent as he attempted to save the race as the season-ender and avoid conflict with the teams, who did not want to see the inaugural Indian Grand Prix moved from its date of October 30.
Thursday's announcement by the Bahrain organisers that they had given up pursuing a race for 2011 left Eccelestone without a project to support.
The FIA insisted that it was only ever following his suggestions for the calendar, heaping all blame for the chaos this week on him.
The FIA also confirmed it had received an updated calendar proposal from Ecclestone and had asked members of the World Motor Sport Council to approve the calendar changes no later than midday on Tuesday.
Related Links
FIA's chronology on the Bahrain GP
Bernie: We'll be back to normal
