Bahrain given until May for GP rescheduling
The season opener, which would have taken place at the Sakhir circuit this weekend, had to be called off due to civil unrest in the island Kingdom.
After ruling out a new summer date due to the desert weather, Bernie Ecclestone has suggested a November rescheduling so long as there is "peace" in Bahrain.
The FIA's World Motor Sport Council met in Paris on Tuesday and "asked the Bahrain Motor Federation to communicate by May 1 at the latest if the Bahrain grand prix can be organized in 2011", a statement confirmed.
During the meeting, a new regulation was also agreed that will allow Pirelli to do some tire testing during Friday practice this year.
The rule will involve drivers using an extra tire specification "at certain events".
"Two sets of these tires will be allocated to each driver for use during P1 and P2, and any such tires must be returned to the tire supplier before the start of P3," said the FIA.
Additionally, presumably due to the extreme degradation seen so far in testing, an extra set of hard tires per driver "may be made available" for Friday practice this year.
"Teams will be informed about such an additional set at least one week before the start of the relevant event," read the statement.