Qatar race now unlikely - Ecclestone

Bernie Ecclestone has put plans for a grand prix in Qatar on the back burner.

In February, the Arab country's highest ranking motor racing official said: "We are about to sign contracts to organise a formula one race" in 2016 or 2017.

That was despite F1 supremo Ecclestone earlier saying he could not organise a Qatari race unless organisers in nearby Bahrain agreed.

"It's not for us (to say)," Bahrain circuit boss Sheikh Salman bin Isa Al-Khalifa said last weekend. "It's for the rights holder."

And according to Reuters news agency, Ecclestone told reporters in Bahrain when asked about Qatar: "I think we've got enough (races) here, don't you?"