Ecclestone will not sell off F1 for Spa

With an exorbitant field fee of 14 million euros, the organizers of the Belgian F1 Grand Prix are losing money every year. But Bernie Ecclestone thinks Formula 1 is worth the money.

Published on 27/08/2009 à 19:04

⁰ View comments)

The Grand Prix of Formula 1 at Spa-Francorchamps is a dream for drivers but much less so for its managers. With only 55 tickets sold for the weekend, the GP is unable to be profitable and local authorities will, once again, be forced to make up the deficit at the end of the weekend. The problem, for Spa, lies in the cost of the field fee, which allows a circuit to receive the premier single-seater category. For the Ardennes circuit, this amounts to 000 million euros but, for Bernie Ecclestone, it is a price that is justified.

« The value of F1 is high, says the representative of F1 commercial rights holders for La Libre Belgique. If you want to buy a Mercedes, you will not make any money and will pay very dearly. Governments pay much more in other countries. And we have at least five requests for races outside Europe. » Even if he says he is very attached to the Ardennes circuit, Bernie Ecclestone shows that he is in a strong position to set the price of the grid fee. And therefore to decide on the profitability of the different Grands Prix.