FIA give Bahrain Grand Prix green light

The FIA have confirmed that the Bahrain Grand Prix will go ahead as scheduled, despite growing civil unrest in the Persian Gulf island state.

There were security concerns ahead of this month's race, which caused Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone and a number of the teams to debate whether the event should be cancelled.

The FIA released a statement, which said: "Based on the current information the FIA has at this stage, it is satisfied that all the proper security measures are in place for the running of a Formula One World Championship event in Bahrain.

"Therefore, the FIA confirms that the 2012 Gulf Air F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain will go ahead as scheduled."

The race was called off last year due to a number of anti-government protests in the area.