The correct decision in the end

After days of speculation, Formula One came to the only logical conclusion and decision available, to cancel the test session in Bahrain scheduled for next week and to call off the race.

The official decision came directly from the event organisers rather than Bernie himself but with the current situation out in not only Bahrain, but other countries as well, it really does put the business of Formula One into context, if the F1 circus had rolled into town regardless it would not have looked or indeed felt right for Bahrain as a country or F1 as a spectacle.

As a fan obviously it is a bit disappointing that we have to wait that little bit longer for our F1 fix, but in the grand scheme of things it’s no biggy.

'At the present time the country's entire attention is focused on building a new national dialogue for Bahrain,' Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa told Autosport Magazine.

'Although Bernie Ecclestone had graciously made clear that a decision on the race was entirely Bahrain's to make and was not yet required, we felt it was important for the country to focus on immediate issues of national interest and leave the hosting of Bahrain's Formula 1 race to a later date.

While talks continue, there has been no announcement regarding whether or not the event has been cancelled and scrubbed from the schedule, or whether the race has been postponed for a later date.

What is known is that the final testing session of pre-season will now be held in Barcelona, for logistical reasons, this was the obvious choice considering a test session at the track only ended yesterday.

But it will mean that the Formula One teams will fly out to Australia with little understanding of how the new Pirelli tyres will run in a hotter climate. It's a big pity for us, I think it should be a big pity for everyone. It's a really good example to see how these tyres work in different temperatures, hotter, different humidity levels. It's really crucial for us if we don't do that test. Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari said following the announcement. ”I wanted to see different situations and circumstances on the tyres.'

Considering many of the drivers were unhappy with how the Pirelli tyres were performing, going into the race in Australia with little data will add an extra dimension to the race.

The unknown will always throw up something, at some point a team will have to make a decision without knowing the full consequences of that action; will the tyre last as long as they think? How much time will it lose them to stay on the tyres? Will they pit too soon? All questions that will now be answered on the track in the race rather than in testing.