A May 19th article from the French language tabloid,
Journal de Montreal, reports that talks are still in progress for a new contract for the Montreal race.
Below is a Google translation, tweaked by me.
There's no big news here--the article says that negotiations are still going on. The big stumbling blocks are these:
- What will be the new sanctioning fee? It is currently only about $15M/year.
- Will the national, provincial and city governments cover the fee, as they do now?
- What improvements to the infrastructure of the track will be required by the new contract?
- What will be the length of a new contract? 5 or 10 years?
The lack of details about the progress of the negotiations might be a good sign or a bad sign. We will probably hear more about this as we get closer to the race weekend. For now, I'm optimistic.
Mais on verra.
The first quote from race promoter Dumontier about the Canadian GP having an important place in Bernie's heart makes me laugh. Bernie has tried to screw the Montreal race two or three times and the main reason he hasn't gotten rid of it is because the teams, the manufacturers and the fans support it wholeheartedly.
19/05/2013 7:22 p.m.
Grand Prix du Canada - Talks are underway
journaldemontreal.com
MONTREAL - "The Canadian Grand Prix has an important place on the World Championship circuit and in the heart of Bernie Ecclestone," said François Dumontier, the promoter of the event.
Dumontier is not a novice when it comes to negotiating with the big boss of Formula 1, Bernie Ecclestone. The developer did everything in his power to ensure that the event returned to Montreal after it was removed from the calendar in 2009.
But what is it like to meet with the big boss of F1?
"I remember, my secretary told me: 'Mr. Ecclestone is on the phone.' We didn't really know each other well. But let's say Bernie is straightforward, Dumontier said during his appearance on Réjean Tremblay's program. With him, there is no 'how are you?'. It was straight to the point. He said: 'I've started to talk with the Canadian and Quebec governments, I'm almost in agreement, I need a promoter, are you interested?' My answer: yes."
"He asked me how long it would take me to be in London. I said, "Give me 48 hours and I'll be there! '"
Ecclestone does not mince words. But it took several meetings before finally coming to an agreement.
"I introduced myself at his office and we immediately began to discuss a future agreement, said Dumontier. There were a total of five bargaining sessions before finally signing the agreement in November 2009. The first meeting was held in May 2009. That gives you an idea."
"But despite whatever has been said, having no World Championship race in North America in 2009 just didn't make sense."
Since that episode, the prestigious race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Île Notre-Dame has once again been part of the F1 calendar. But the future of the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal could be guaranteed for several more years.
Talks are underway
"We started negotiations with Bernie in February 2012 and they began well, said the developer. He wants to renew the agreement for 10 years. But since then, there have been [provincial] elections in September, there was a change of [provincial] government and we lost the mayor of Montreal in November [he resigned because of a scandal]. That caused delays.
"However, the talks resumed, he said. We have one more year on the current contract, so ideally we would like to make an announcement before it expires."
Dumontier has also had the opportunity to discuss this issue with the Acting Mayor of Montreal Michael Applebaum.
"Applebaum takes this issue to heart, he said. I didn't know it, but he is a fan of racing. From what I understand, an effort is being made to reach agreement going forward.
The Canadian Grand Prix will take place June 7, 8 and 9, at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Eight support races are also scheduled.