Montreal close to finalising 2010 return

Montreal is in the process of finalising a new deal with Bernie Ecclestone which will see the Canadian Grand Prix return to the calendar in 2010, the city’s mayor has said.

After Ecclestone indicated last week that the sport would be returning to the popular Circuit Gilles Villeneuve venue next season after being dropped for this year, Montreal mayor Gerald Tremblay said on Thursday it was looking “very good” for a June 2010 race.

While Tremblay admitted the final details of the deal, including the exact date of the race, were still to be agreed, he appeared confident that the city was close to securing a Formula 1 comeback.

"There are still certain commitments which have been made that have to be refined," The Canadian Press quoted him as saying.

"Right now, we're trying to finalise this agreement in the best interests of Montreal."

The Canadian race was dropped after an unbroken 22-year sequence on the calendar last October after Ecclestone claimed organisers had defaulted on payments over a three-year period.

Admitting a “commercial disagreement” over the 2008 event, race officials then made several attempts to strike a rescue deal to save the race but eventually admitted defeat after saying the city couldn’t afford to yield to Ecclestone’s “unreasonable” financial demands.

Montreal’s 2010 return is understood to include financial support from both the Quebec and Ottawa governments, with all three parties to contribute to the costs of hosting the race and the share of revenues.

Long-time Canadian GP promoter François Dumontier shared Tremblay’s optimism that the Montreal round will be on next season’s calendar, although he stressed it wasn’t quite a done deal yet.

“I would love to see Formula 1 back,” he was quoted as saying by the Montreal Gazette.

“I would say that I’m pretty optimistic about it. I think there are a lot of things to do yet, but it’s okay to be optimistic about it, yes.”

The Canadian Press also reported that Tremblay is confident the city can officially announce its F1 return before the first version of next season’s calendar is released by the FIA in September.

Source: ITV