[BobHWS]

Originally Posted by BobHWS

...A report in the Journal de Montréal on Friday suggested a deal between Ecclestone and the city is imminent. We’ll see. The final calendar is to be released in December.

Below are the key points of the article from Le Journal de Montreal (my translation with help from Google).

I'm not encouraged to read that the fate of the Montreal GP rests on a hope and a prayer that the promotion of Canadian driver Lance Stroll to the F1 ranks will attract enough additional fans to the GP to generate enough profits to make the race viable. I hope that it happens but I don't think it's likely.

• According to the tentative agreement still to be ratified, the city will build the garages and the paddock in time for the Grand Prix of 2019. The initial 10-year contract stipulated that Montreal would build these garages for the 2017 Grand Prix.
  
• There was talk of an investment of about 27 million. The sum is now estimated to be nearly 50 million. In return for exceeding the budget, Bernie Ecclestone would add two years to the current contract, ensuring the presence of the Canadian GP in Montreal until June 2026.
  
• This would allow the mayor Coderre recover the investment over a greater number of years.
  
• The president of the Executive Committee of Montreal, Pierre Desrochers, traveled to London to have a discussion with Bernie Ecclestone. This meeting took place at the offices of the FOM a few weeks ago.
  
• François Dumontier, the promoter of the GP remains involved throughout the negotiation process. There is no guarantee that the Grand Prix will be back but if the city reaches an agreement with Ecclestone, his promoter's contract will be much stronger.
  
• So what difference would an extended contract make?
  
• The extended contract would theoretically allow Dumontier to attract at least 20,000 additional spectators to the race thanks to a 17 year old boy named Lance Stroll.
  
• Lance is the son of Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll. He can get his hands on the championship of Formula 3 Saturday or Sunday. He turns 18 in late October and will hopefully make the leap to Formula 1 with Williams. My sources say the chances of seeing the wheel of a Williams in the first Grand Prix next season are 95 percent.
  
• The impact of Lance Stroll will not be like that of Jacques Villeneuve when he began his career in Melbourne by winning the pole position in his first Grand Prix. Villeneuve had won the championship of the Formula Indy, a major championship at the time. In addition, he had won the Indy 500 Miles of Indianapolis and was supported by Players Tobacco chaired by Jean-Paul Blais.
  
• Lance Stroll could lead to a rise in the popularity of the Grand Prix. He speaks better French than Canadian tennis player Eugenie Bouchard and is very affable. Last year, about 90 000 spectators attended the Grand Prix. Thanks to Lance Stroll, François Dumontier could attract the magic number of 110 000 spectators on Sunday afternoon. It's the difference between making money or making a deficit.
  
• And in three or four years, everything indicates that Kimi Laliberté, son of Guy Laliberté, will join the super exclusive club of Formula 1. The profitability of the GP would be ensured.
  
• And with Lance Stroll and aboard a Williams, TV network RDS's ratings will increase. So, interest in the Grand Prix too.
  
• Nothing is officially set. Furthermore, tickets for the next Grand Prix are ​​still not for sale. Can not buy one.
  
• But this time, the stars seem to line up favorably for Dumontier and Montreal. The next meeting of the World Council of Federation of motor sport will be held on 30 November. It's make or break over the next month.
  
• But again, B'wana B'nie may change his mind in an hour.
  
• But for now, there is hope. It is already a lot.