Bernie Ecclestone has said that a potential race in Qatar needs the permission of Gulf State neighbours Bahrain.

Qatar is keen on staging a Formula 1 race from 2016, but they could be hampered by a gentlemen's agreement Ecclestone has in place with Bahrain that he made when he signed a deal with them in 2004.

Ecclestone told reporters: "When I did the deal to have a race in Bahrain I shook hands with them - promising not to have another race in the area unless they agreed to it. Then Abu Dhabi came along and said they wanted a race. I said I couldn't help them unless Bahrain agree to let them join the calendar. If they agreed, fine. They agreed.

"Now Bahrain needs to agree to a race in Qatar. If that can be sorted, fine. If not, we can't do anything about it."

It seems unlikely that Bahrain will give permission, after their F1 chief executive told reporters "I don't think we're ready for that."

The Bahrain Grand Prix will take place on April 5.