End of the Road for Canadian GP

Talks between the Canadian GP organisers and Formula 1 Management have failed and there would be no more attempts in trying to salvage the Canadian GP's fate.

The two authorities were unable to reach a middle ground in their negotiations despite weeks of discussions. The Canadian authorities did not think it was possible to meet Bernie Ecclestone's demands of a guarantee totally US$141m over the next five years, which Ecclestone never did adjust despite the current financial situation. The best that Canadian GP could offer was "an amount topped at $89m to cover the period until 2013, with 75% of the eventual revenue going to FOM in addition to its exclusive trackside revenues."

After declaring that the negotiations have ended, former Minister of International Trade (Canada) Michael Fortier criticised the economics model of F1. "The model of the F1 industry probably needs some fixing." Fortier is a leading member of the Canadian team that negotiated with Bernie Ecclestone.

"I'm not an expert, but having spent the last month talking to him (Ecclestone) and talking to people in the business, I think it needs a fresh and creative approach," he continued. "The approach we took towards coming up with a financial solution was one where it was much closer to today's economic reality."

On the other end of the spectrum, however, Ecclestone is willing to help the Shanghai GP. Speaking to Financial Times, "We have a contract until 2010 with an option for five years after that. We will talk to them about it, and meet up and see how we can help them."

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Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.

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