A SENIOR FIA official has revealed the Bahrain and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix could figure in close proximity to one another on any revamped calendar this year.

The race in Bahrain scheduled for March 13 was called off on Monday due to the political unrest that last week resulted in the deaths of six pro-democracy demonstrators.

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has since vowed to do all he can to accommodate Bahrain later this year should peace return to the Gulf kingdom.

However, in a calendar that finishes at the end of November, there appears little room for manoeuvre.

One possibility that had been mooted was squeezing it in between the season-ending races in Abu Dhabi and Brazil, and potentially pushing the latter back to the first weekend in December.

It had been thought, though, the organisers of the Abu Dhabi race would not be willing to entertain the prospect of near-neighbours Bahrain hosting a rescheduled race so near to their own for fear of loss of revenue and exposure.

However, Mohammed ben Sulayem, vice-president of the World Motor Sport Council and president of the Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE, believes that “finding time in the calendar is feasible.”

Ben Sulayem said: “Originally, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain agreed to have a big separation on the calendar to make the most of the exposure that a grand prix brings. However, this is an emergency and in an emergency we need to work together.”

The WMSC are due to stage their first meeting of the year next week when the Bahrain GP is likely to be top of the agenda.

However, Ben Sulayem has confirmed a new date will only be found if Bahrain formally requests a new slot.