Criticism of Formula 1: 'Why not Bahrain right away as the season opener?'

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17:16, 12 Jan 2021

While Formula 1 gets many compliments for adapting so quickly to the coronavirus and coming up with a revised calendar so quickly, there is also some criticism. David Croft has argued that it was clear from the outset that an opening race in Australia would be unfeasible.

"I don’t know why we didn’t or the F1 didn’t look at Bahrain as a season opener right from the outset, without trying to sound too negative towards the organizers of the Australian Grand Prix," Croft said in a Sky Sports broadcast on Tuesday. "They were never going to get that race on in Albert Park at the start of the year."

Bahrain would have been a "much more sensible" choice, according to the F1 commentator. "We always get good racing in Bahrain. They are very much advanced in their vaccination programme and their track and tracing programme as well, so they are able to cope better with having F1," he added.

Pos.	Driver	Team	Points
1	Kimi Antonelli Kimi Antonelli	MercedesMER	131
2	George Russell George Russell	MercedesMER	88
3	Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc	FerrariFER	75
4	Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton	FerrariFER	72
5	Lando Norris Lando Norris	McLarenMCL	58
6	Oscar Piastri Oscar Piastri	McLarenMCL	48
7	Max Verstappen Max Verstappen	Red Bull RacingRBR	43
8	Pierre Gasly Pierre Gasly	AlpineALP	20
9	Oliver Bearman Oliver Bearman	HaasHAA	18
10	Liam Lawson Liam Lawson	Racing BullsRCB	16
11	Franco Colapinto Franco Colapinto	AlpineALP	15
12	Isack Hadjar Isack Hadjar	Red Bull RacingRBR	14
13	Carlos Sainz Carlos Sainz	WilliamsWIL	6
14	Arvid Lindblad Arvid Lindblad	Racing BullsRCB	5
15	Gabriel Bortoleto Gabriel Bortoleto	AudiAUD	2
16	Esteban Ocon Esteban Ocon	HaasHAA	1
17	Alexander Albon Alexander Albon	WilliamsWIL	1
18	Nico Hulkenberg Nico Hulkenberg	AudiAUD	0
19	Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Bottas	CadillacCAD	0
20	Sergio Perez Sergio Perez	CadillacCAD	0
21	Lance Stroll Lance Stroll	Aston MartinAST	0
22	Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso	Aston MartinAST	0

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