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F1: Ecclestone Gives Austin Until Next Week To Save US GP
F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has given Austin race organizers a deadline to sign a contract on the 2012 United States Grand Prix...
Bernie Ecclestone says Bahrain's 2012 sanctioning fee is already in the bank. (Photo: Getty Images)
Bernie Ecclestone has stressed that Circuit of the Americas' final chance to save the 2012 US GP will come well before the World Motor Sport Council meeting in New Delhi, India on Dec. 7.
Ecclestone clearly wants time to shuffle the F1 calendar around before the WMSC gathering, should it be decided that Austin is definitely out.
“It needs to be before that,” the F1 chief executive told Reuters Thursday. “We don’t need any deadlines, having to thrash around at the last minute to do something. It’s gone on long enough.
“They have got next week, anyway. We are going to be in Brazil so they can come back next week.”
Ecclestone made it clear that he held out little hope that the event could be saved, stressing that it all boiled down to lack of finance. The Texas state had promised to fund the $25 million sanction fee before Comptroller Susan Combs seemingly changed her mind.
“There’s nothing to save. They can’t bloody well pay," Ecclestone said. "What do you want me to do: Wait until next year? To put all our cars on it, run around the circuit and everything and come back with no money? The teams want paying.
“It’s not brinkmanship; it never has been with me. I’ve been trying to do a deal now with these people for 18 months or more. ... If they had the money, I’m sure there would be no problem.”
Adam Cooper notched up his 26th season as a racing journalist in 2010. He has written about F1 for SPEED.com since 2005. Follow him on Twitter.
Ecclestone clearly wants time to shuffle the F1 calendar around before the WMSC gathering, should it be decided that Austin is definitely out.
“It needs to be before that,” the F1 chief executive told Reuters Thursday. “We don’t need any deadlines, having to thrash around at the last minute to do something. It’s gone on long enough.
“They have got next week, anyway. We are going to be in Brazil so they can come back next week.”
Ecclestone made it clear that he held out little hope that the event could be saved, stressing that it all boiled down to lack of finance. The Texas state had promised to fund the $25 million sanction fee before Comptroller Susan Combs seemingly changed her mind.
“There’s nothing to save. They can’t bloody well pay," Ecclestone said. "What do you want me to do: Wait until next year? To put all our cars on it, run around the circuit and everything and come back with no money? The teams want paying.
“It’s not brinkmanship; it never has been with me. I’ve been trying to do a deal now with these people for 18 months or more. ... If they had the money, I’m sure there would be no problem.”
Adam Cooper notched up his 26th season as a racing journalist in 2010. He has written about F1 for SPEED.com since 2005. Follow him on Twitter.
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