Bernie Ecclestone delighted by expansion in Asia

After years of discussion, Bernie Ecclestone admits that he is delighted with the full expansion of Formula 1 in Asia.

This continent welcomed F1 for the first time in 1976 for the Japanese Grand Prix, and over the years, three other events have been added to the calendar: Malaysia in 1999, China in 2004, and Singapore in 2008, which had the honor of being the first Formula 1 race held at night.

And the number will increase again next year, as South Korea will join the 2010 calendar and add to Ecclestone’s pleasure.

« Asia is very important. I have worked the last 20 years to have as many countries as possible. There should be no limit on the locations that F1 can take, » said Ecclestone in the newspaper Malaysia’s Star.

« For us, one of the biggest challenges in promoting F1 in Asia is making people understand that it is not just a race taking place in their country. They need to watch the entire season to fully appreciate the sport. »

Let us recall that this expansion must be done at the expense of other circuits to maintain a certain limit on the number of events in the F1 calendar. In 2009, F1 will no longer set foot in North America, and there will also be no French Grand Prix, a race that was previously included every year—except 1955—since the creation of the World Championship.