Abu Dhabi will remain F1's season-ending race next year but CEO Bernie Ecclestone has "calmed fears the calendar could extend into December to create a bigger gap between Singapore and Malaysia," according to Alan Baldwin of REUTERS. Ecclestone: "I think we can escape going into December, otherwise it's getting a bit too near Christmas." The '16 calendar remains "very much a work in progress, with the 21-race draft version published in July sure to see some changes before being cast in stone later in the year." Ecclestone confirmed Malaysia was set for a new slot, yet to be decided. He said, "I'm going to move that a little bit. I don't know (where), I'm having a look now." Malaysia, the second round of the '15 season, had been penciled in as the 13th round of '16 with a Sept. 25 date, the weekend after Singapore's night grand prix. While the Sepang circuit organizers had "no qualms about being back-to-back" with their neighbors' "more glamorous race, paddock reports suggested the Singaporeans were less enthusiastic." Ecclestone had suggested last week that the season, due to end in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 27, "could be stretched into December to keep the Southeast Asian races apart." Williams Deputy Team Principal Claire Williams said that the sport's core Strategy Group "would discuss the calendar, and the reduced break, at their next meeting." She said, "It does worry us and it's something that we'll be putting on the agenda" (REUTERS, 9/8).