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SPEED Staff / GMM
10/09/2008 - 12:10 PM
Montreal, Quebec
Canada's absence means no North American races in 2009. (LAT Photo) ยป More Photos
Only the government can step in to bring Canada back onto the Formula 1 calendar beyond 2009, a spokesman for the axed Montreal race’s promoter insists.
Paul Wilson, speaking on behalf of race promoter F1 Grand Prix du Canada, confirmed that a commercial disagreement with Bernie Ecclestone led this week to the cancellation of the contract.
“It’s a technical problem with the contract,” F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone was quoted by Canadian media as confirming.
Montreal radio station CJAD claims F1 Grand Prix du Canada owes the Ecclestone-led Formula One Management group some $10m.
Wilson said Montreal can no longer compete with the sorts of fees paid by new race promoters like China and Abu Dhabi.
“We are sorry that Mr. Ecclestone deemed it appropriate to cut short the negotiations and react in this manner,” he said. “For an organization like ours, which is to say a private promoter, the actual business model implemented by the owners and the Formula 1 teams is no longer feasible.”
He said the future of the event now rests in the hands of government bodies, that are reportedly interested in rescuing the race.
“It’s for them to call the shots. If they think it’s a good idea for the city, for the province, for the country, let’s go for it,” Wilson said. “They all want to get together and are very much trying to get moving on this as one.”
Meanwhile, BMW Sauber team boss Mario Theissen expressed disappointment with the loss of the last North American stop on the calendar. “The North American market still is the biggest one, not just for BMW,” he told reporters at Fuji Speedway on Thursday.
The German said the development is also a backwards step for efforts to reinstate a USGP, after Indianapolis chiefs and Ecclestone failed to reach an agreement for 2008 or 2009.
“The intention should be not to step out of this market but just the opposite – to use Montreal as door-opener for a future U.S. race as well,” Theissen added.
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