Bernie Ecclestone admits it will be difficult for F1 to fully crack the American market despite next year’s expansion into the country.

A race in Austin, Texas, is on the schedule for November 2012, with a second event planned in New Jersey from the following year as Ecclestone attempts to expand his empire into one of the world’s biggest markets.

But he does not feel F1 will ever be a big feature of the American sporting calendar due to its relative lack of exposure in such a large country.

He said: “We’ve been there, years ago, and it’s a little bit like the rest of America, they want to see a profit before they start something and it’s not easy to do that.

“We’ve got maximum two races in America, and when you consider the country is as big as Europe and we’ve got (eight) races in Europe, it’s difficult. If we had a lot more races there and a lot more television, it would be okay.”

The event in Bahrain, which was cancelled this year due to political unrest, is also back on the calendar for the upcoming season.

“We’re happy to go there,” Ecclestone said.

“If we’re invited, we’ll go there.

“I couldn’t find out exactly what appears to be the major problem. There obviously is a problem and I’m quite sure that eventually they’ll get to the bottom of it and sort it out.”

And expansion plans continue around the world, with Ecclestone adding: “We’re going to be in Russia in 2014, South Africa, probably in 2013 even.”

It would be the first race in South Africa since 1993 while Russia has never been part of the Formula One era.