20/11/2008
NEWS STORY
Talking to a local radio station, Bernie Ecclestone has dismissed claims that he acted unreasonably in his negotiations with Canadian Grand Prix organizers, claiming that he wants to see F1 return to the city.
Last weekend, Gérald Tremblay, Mayor of Montréal, Raymond Bachand, The Minister of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade, Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for the Montréal region, and the Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada and responsible for the greater Montreal, accused Ecclestone of being "unreasonable", "unrealistic" and of making "unworkable demands".
"We were constantly guided in our negotiations by principles of responsible management," said Tremblay. "However, despite our endeavours and those of the business community, the unreasonable demands of Formula One exceeded the taxpayer's ability to pay."
"We worked very hard over the past few weeks to ensure there would be a Grand Prix in Montréal," added Bachand, "while staying fiscally responsible. We cannot meet Mr. Ecclestone's unworkable demands. Unless he eases his requirements and adopts a different approach, there will be no Grand Prix in Montréal in 2009."
"This is a loss for Greater Montréal and for all Canadians," admitted Paradis. "The Grand Prix was a window on the world for Montréal and for the rest of Canada.
"Unfortunately, he continued, "(we were) unable to meet the unrealistic demands of Mr. Ecclestone. As I recently said, 'yes to a Grand Prix, but not at any price.'"
However, when asked by a reporter for Montreal radio station CJAD about his "unreasonable" demands, said to be $175m (Can) over the next 5 years, plus advertising and attendance revenues, Ecclestone said: "Unreasonable compared to what?
"We do business worldwide and nobody else thinks we're unreasonable," he continued. "We've got a queue of people that want races. So we can't be unreasonable."
Canada is a typical example of the quandary that the sport finds itself in. Whilst popular with fans and drivers, it is proving ever more difficult to meet Formula One Management's financial demands. On the other hand, there are many countries, particularly in the east, where governments and entrepreneurs are only too happy to pay up in order to become part of the F1 dream.
"Everyone in Formula One loves Montreal," said Ecclestone. "I said (to the organizers) you can come to my office, pull any contract out of that drawer for all the overseas races, take any one of them, cross out the name and put your name, and that's what we'll do. Because what was offered them was less than we get anywhere else in the world."
That said, he refused to go into any detail regarding Montreal's offer.
As the issue rumbles on, with both sides accusing one another, the real losers are the fans, particularly in Canada, indeed, north America, which is missing from the F1 calendar for the first time since 1958.
Asked if he would like to see Montreal back on the F1 map, Ecclestone replied: "Of course we would... we didn't want to lose it."