Spa wants to extend with F1 without alternating with France

The contract linking Spa-Francorchamps to Formula 1 will end at the end of 2012, but the officials of the Belgian circuit are currently negotiating with Bernie Ecclestone to extend this contract for an additional four years.

Etienne Davignon, president of Spa Grand Prix, told the Belgian newspaper L’Echo that he submitted an offer to Bernie Ecclestone regarding a new contract: « We have submitted a reasonable proposal for an annual GP in Francorchamps. »

The goal would be to reduce the deficit caused by the Grand Prix by half. It is currently a little over 5 million euros, and the target would be to bring it down to a little over 2 million euros, potentially by negotiating a reduction in the F1 hosting fees paid to Bernie Ecclestone.

This desire to continue with F1 follows the abandonment of the alternating project with a French circuit, as André Maes explains to L’Echo: « The election of François Hollande as French president changed the situation. We no longer have contact with the team set up by former Prime Minister François Fillon to manage the alternating Grand Prix file. So, it became clear to us that the French no longer wanted to play a part in this. Hence the proposal we made to Mr. Ecclestone. But I am bound by a confidentiality clause, I can’t tell you anything. »

Due to a lack of decision on the French side, the organizers of the Belgian Grand Prix have decided to continue to go it alone and attempt to reduce the deficit caused by the race in order to survive and remain on the Formula 1 World Championship calendar.