Canadian Grand Prix dropped from the 2009 Formula One calendar
Published Tuesday October 7th, 2008
MONTREAL - An announcement that the Canadian Grand Prix has been dropped from the 2009 Formula One schedule was greeted with shock, alarm and skepticism on Tuesday.
FIA, the world governing body for motor racing, released a revised 2009 calendar in which the race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal was replaced by a new event in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
It is the second time in five years that Montreal has been left off the F1 schedule. The last time, a dispute over Canada's ban on tobacco advertising was resolved in time to hold the 2004 race through an infusion of extra money.
Mayor Gerald Tremblay said he's ready to do battle again to save the event that has become the city's biggest weekend for tourism, with economic spinoffs he estimated at $100 million.
"I said essentially, 'Not again,"' said Tremblay. "They did that (five) years ago and because we mobilized all Montrealers and the governments, we were successful in maintaining our Grand Prix. So maybe we have to start all over again."
FIA gave no reason for the move.
Contractual problems between Circuit Gilles Villeneuve officials and commercial rights holder F1 Management are believed to have contributed to the decision.
The move leaves North America without a Formula One race for the first time in 43 years. The U.S. Grand Prix was dropped from the F1 schedule last year. The addition of Abu Dhabi continues a trend into Asia that has seen events added in recent years in Malaysia, Bahrain, Turkey, Singapore and China.
Canadian Grand Prix officials said in a statement that they had only learned of the news via the media.
"Consequently, we will not release any comment until we've spoken to the interested parties, both Formula One Management and the Federation International de l'Automobile," the statement said.
A spokesman for the race promoters is to meet with the media in Montreal on Wednesday. Quebec Premier Jean Charest is among those waiting for answers.
"The Quebec government has always approached the Grand Prix from a business standpoint," Charest said in Quebec City. "Every time we did something related to the Grand Prix, it was because it was economically profitable for Quebec and we will continue to approach it from that angle.
"But we're like you. We're waiting to find out what all this means."
A year ago, the Canadian race was under threat as F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone demanded that the team paddocks and the media centre be expanded and modernized. That work was completed for the 2008 race as part of a $5.5-million facelift.
The island track across from downtown Montreal was also to get its own power supply for 2009 to replace generators used at previous races.
"Mr. Ecclestone has been known to negotiate in a bizarre fashion," said Quebec Economic Development Minister Raymond Bachand.
The Montreal race was popular with drivers and teams and a huge success with spectators, bringing in more than 300,000 fans for the three days of racing. A problem in recent years has been the condition of the track, where the asphalt has been pulled up by tires, making for slick, treacherous driving conditions.
At the Grand Prix in June, there was fear that drivers would refuse to race, but organizers repaired the track overnight and the event went off without any major incidents. There were plans to resurface all or parts of the track using a stronger compound for this year's event.
Montreal previously hosted Champ Car World Series races, previously known as CART, until 2006. The event was moved to Mont-Tremblant, Que., in 2007 and was later dropped from the calendar when Champ Car merged with the Indy Racing League. The city also lost the Montreal Expos in 2004 when the Major League Baseball franchise moved to Washington, D.C.
"I know most of the drivers love Montreal," said Patrice Brisebois, a Montreal Canadiens defenceman who drives as a hobby in the Ferrari Challenge, one of the support races at the Canadian Grand Prix.
"The track is nice, they have fun in the city, and it's so alive. I don't know what their reasons are, but I'm really disappointed and shocked."
At F1 Emporium, a downtown shop that sells racing shirts, caps, flags and other gear, owner Najib Slaoui was concerned. He said 40 per cent of his business is done on Grand Prix week.
"It would have a big impact, not just for me," he said. "Ask anybody, all the bars and restaurants, taxi drivers, everybody's going to be hurt.
"In the winter, we don't make money. If you lose the Grand Prix, what's left? It's not NASCAR that's going to help us because (when that is in town) we do worse than regular weeks. That's no good."
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is used only twice a year for racing - the Canadian Grand Prix and a NASCAR Nationwide Series event in August, which draws about half the crowd of F1.
Visitors, many of them wealthy, pack the bars and the restaurants during Grand Prix week. Some downtown streets are blocked off for everything from classic car demonstrations to fashion shows, and a party atmosphere reigns. With its early June date, some consider it the unofficial start of summer.
"I'm still optimistic," added Slaoui. "People were calling this morning saying 'no Grand Prix, no Grand Prix,' but we've heard that in the past. So let's wait and see."
The Canadian Grand Prix has been part of the F1 calendar since 1967. The only year since that it wasn't held was 1987 due to a dispute between sponsors.
It moved from its original home at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ont., to the newly built Montreal track in 1978, when Gilles Villeneuve won the race for Ferrari. It was renamed for him after the Berthierville, Que., driver was killed in a crash at the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix.
FIA's provisional calendar for 2009 included the Canadian race on June 7, but that was dropped as it ratified a revised schedule of 18 races.
The Turkish GP, originally scheduled to be raced in August, takes Montreal's June 7 spot to leave teams with a four-week break between the Hungarian GP on July 26 and the European GP at Valencia, Spain, on Aug. 23.
At the World Council meeting held at FIA's Paris headquarters, FIA also gave president Max Mosley the power to negotiate directly with the Formula One Teams Association over proposed measures to cut F1 team costs in half by 2010.
Should negotiations with the 10 teams fail, then the FIA can "enforce the necessary measures to achieve this goal."
Also, Marco Piccinini will leave his post as deputy president for the sporting side of the body a year early "to focus on other professional commitments." Piccinini, whose successor will be elected at the Nov. 7 general assembly, was serving out his second term.
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With files from The Associated Press.
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