Formula 1 chief Bernie Ecclestone has revealed that he would be "happy" to give the Bahrain Grand Prix a new five-year contract, despite controversy regarding the political unrest.
It appears that the 82-year-old businessman has backtracked on his comments stating that the Bahrain government were "stupid" to host a race as it gives political protesters a "platform" to air their frustrations.
"We're happy to give a new contract for five years," BBC Sport quotes Ecclestone as saying. "I feel they do a super job and don't see any problems."
The Bahrain International Circuit chairman added: "We're still contracted to 2016, but obviously we are willing to look beyond that. We've not started negotiations yet, but we are happy to look at it. The intentions for a contract extension are definitely there.
"We're committed to the sport, we were the first race in the Middle East, we call ourselves the home of motor sport in the Middle East. We believe that in every sense of those words. We are here for the long term and want to be known as the friendly race."
Sunday's race, which resulted in victory for Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, went ahead without any problems.
Danielle Joynson
