Well, here we go again. As in 2009 when the F1 grand prix was cancelled due to a dispute about the sanctioning fee, the future of the Montreal F1 race is in doubt. It's on the tentative calendar for 2017 but with a big asterisk next to it. The Gazette's F1 reporter explains below.
It would be a real shame for Montreal to lose its spot on the F1 calendar. It's the biggest weekend-long social event of the year in Montreal. It's a boon for the hotel and restaurant industries and their owners and employees. And it's one of the most popular stops on the F1 circuit among F1 fans worldwide. Also, it's the favorite time of year for anti-prostitution feminists and their media allies to rant about "trafficking." :rant:
Walter Buchignani: Canadian Grand Prix on collision course with an asterisk
montrealgazette.com
September 30, 2016 |
So the dreaded asterisk is back, appearing menacingly on the 2017 Formula One provisional calendar beside the
Canadian Grand Prix, along with the words: “Subject to confirmation.”
This, of course, will come as a shock to no one who has been paying attention to recent developments in the turbulent world of top-tier auto racing.
In my last column — and not for the first time — I suggested the future of Montreal’s race was far from certain, and the release of the tentative calendar on Wednesday only served to confirm what was already known.
To recap: In 2014, the city of Montreal, along with its tourism bureau and the provincial and federal governments, agreed to fork over a total of $187 million over 10 years for the privilege of continuing to host our Grand Prix through 2024.
That’s a relative bargain. But the deal with F1 ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone also stipulated the city carry out upgrades to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, including paddocks, control tower and medical centre, in time for the 2017 race. The cost of those renos has been put at between $30 million and $50 million.
However, the city won’t be doing the work in time for next summer, or maybe even a few years after that. No problem, Mayor Denis Coderre has said, because he has a “handshake agreement” with Ecclestone that secures the race in the short term.
Ecclestone himself, though, sounded less than reassuring when reporters cornered him at the track during Grand Prix weekend in June and asked him whether the 2017 edition would proceed without the upgrades.
“We’ll see,” Ecclestone said.
He added, not unreasonably: “When you’ve got a contract, normally it’s got the terms set out for what people are supposed to do — both sides. And it’s been forgotten a little bit from the city’s side.”
Adding to the uncertainty, Ecclestone made headlines the following weekend while touring the shiny new facilities in Azerbaijan during its inaugural Grand Prix. In comparison, he said, the place he’d just left — that’s us — “is a bit of a s–t hole, isn’t it?”
There’s more. Since then, F1 has embarked on a change of ownership. U.S. communications giant Liberty Media is in the process of acquiring a principal stake valued at US$8 billion. Ecclestone remains CEO for now, but where that leaves handshake agreements is anyone’s guess.
What’s clear is Liberty Media aims to grow F1 in the U.S. and other markets. That presumably would require the removal of some existing events, given that the calendar is already overbooked with 21 races. Hint: Brazil and Germany are also “subject to confirmation” for 2017.
Oh, and let’s not forget the cash-flow problems at Groupe Octane, organizer of the Canadian Grand Prix. Promoter François Dumontier has been unsuccessful in his search for a title sponsor, and late in paying suppliers. Security firm Garda is seeking about $340,000 in court for nonpayment of services rendered.
Dumontier is also late putting tickets on sale for the 2017 race. They are still not available, even though under normal circumstances they would have been since June.
All things considered, then, it’s a wonder the Canadian Grand Prix appears on the provisional calendar with an asterisk and not a skull and crossbones.
Now, the hope is things will get sorted out and the event will go ahead on Île Notre Dame next June 11 weekend. A report in the
Journal de Montréal on Friday suggested a deal between Ecclestone and the city is imminent. We’ll see. The final calendar is to be released in December.
For the record, Montreal was last left without a race in 2009, after similarly appearing on the provisional calendar with an asterisk.
Meanwhile, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, the governing body for motor racing, has released the official schedule for the 2016-17 season of Formula E, the all-electric series in which Montreal will take part for the first time.
Our city is to play host to a pair of races July 29-30 to close out the championship. That promises to inject added excitement to the novelty of electric competition if the title fight goes down to the wire.
Formula E races — or ePrix — are run in the streets of urban centres rather than on traditional race tracks. City hall has yet to announce where the circuit will be, though news reports have placed it in the eastern part of downtown, around the CBC-Radio-Canada tower.
Of course, weary taxpayers want to know how the event will be financed. A formal announcement is forthcoming, Marc-André Gosselin, a spokesperson for the mayor, told me the other day. In the meantime, it should be noted New York’s ePrix, also in July, is to be fully underwritten by corporate sponsors.
The new Formula E season kicks off in Hong Kong on Oct. 9, while in F1, Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg resume their see-saw battle for the championship this weekend at the Sepang International Circuit.
That’s the Malaysian Grand Prix, without an asterisk.
. I really love the MTL F1 racing event
