Bahrain unrest far from over

F1 and Bahraini authorities apparently made the right decision to cancel the 2011 season opener in the troubled island Kingdom.

The day after the sport was to have raced at the Sakhir track, political observers were expressing grave concerns about the deployment to Bahrain of Saudi Arabian forces.

And with the May 1 deadline looming for the rescheduling of the grand prix later in 2011, it is feared the Saudi development in Bahrain "could be provocative or inflame sectarian tensions", according to a Pentagon spokesman.

Bloomberg said the price of oil spiked because it is feared the Bahrain situation "may escalate" due to the Kingdom asking Saudi Arabia for military support.

Part of the reason for the fear of escalation is that Iran has long been at odds with Saudi Arabia, and has strongly backed the protesting Shia majority in Bahrain.

Throughout last weekend, which had been scheduled for the Bahrain grand prix, tens of thousands of protesters remained at the focal Pearl roundabout and were also marching at government sites.