F1 banks the Bahrain money – who saw that coming?

So after all that F1 has banked Bahrain's estimated $40million race fee, despite the grand prix not taking place in 2011. No surprise there.

Despite telling the Telegraph in February, at the height of the unrest, that he would "not charge them for a race they are not getting", no one really expected Bernie/F1 to lose out over the saga. Once Bahrain officially pulled the plug on the grand prix rather than the teams/Bernie there was no question of that happening, although Ecclestone claims he tried to return the fee.

"I don't think turnover will be down this year," the 80-year-old was quoted as saying this morning when asked about the sport's 2011 balance sheet. "I think it will be flat because we were paid for Bahrain. I said we will give them the money back and they said 'Don't bother'…. They are lovely people."

And clearly desperate to get their race back. It will be interesting to see how much goodwill their 'largesse' has bought, particularly if there are any repercussions before next April's race.

Ecclestone is hopeful. "I spoke to the Bahrainis yesterday and they said everything is going to be fine," he said. "I hope they are right for their sake, not ours."