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PARIS — In a stunning move that caught the event's organizers off guard, the Canadian Grand Prix was dropped from the 2009 Formula One calendar on Tuesday.
FIA, the governing body of auto racing, ratified its calendar for the coming season and omitted the Canadian race, which was first held in 1967. It's the first time since 1987 that the Canadian Grand Prix won't be on the F1 schedule.
The inaugural Abu Dhabi GP replaces the Canadian race for the 2009 season, which will feature 18 races, the same as this year. The Turkish Grand Prix will move into the Canadian event's June 7 slot next year.
Contractual problems between Circuit Gilles Villeneuve officials and commercial rights holder F1 management are believed to have contributed to the decision.
Canadian driver Gilles Villeneuve celebrates on the podium after winning the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, in this Oct. 8, 1978 file photo. FIA, the governing body of auto racing, has ratified its schedule for the coming season and left the Montreal race off the list. (CP FIle Photo)
The Montreal race organizers released a brief statement early Tuesday afternoon.
“The executives of the Grand Prix of Canada have learned via the media of the omission of the Grand Prix of Canada from the F1 Championship 2009 calendar. Therefore, the organization will issue no comment until having spoken to Formula One Management (FOM) and the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA),” the statement said.
Usually when a race is on the chopping block, rumours circulate in the paddock long before the news breaks. For example, when Montreal was left off the 2004 calendar, it was an open secret in the paddock before the announcement came.
But in this case, few had any idea Canada was threatened and there was not even a whisper about it in the paddock last weekend in Singapore as the series staged its first night race.
One team principal contacted said he had “no idea” why the Canadian Grand Prix has been dropped.
A theory making the rounds is that the race organizers in Montreal are having difficulty paying the costs of bringing the F1 circus to town without sharing them with the U.S. Grand Prix in Indianapolis.
Promotors must pay the freight costs incurred by the teams for “fly away” races outside Europe.
The race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was dropped this year after running at the famed 2.5-mile oval for eight seasons beginning in 2000. It is rumoured to be on track to return in 2010.
With the traditional three-week August break now a full month in the new calendar, it might leave some wiggle room for the FIA to put Canada back on the schedule. But it would take some work to move the Istanbul race.
“You need two weeks around Turkey to get there and back. And the teams want a summer break at all costs,” said one paddock insider.
“I know there were complaints with the track but no one seems to know anything or to have heard anything prior to the calendar release. I'd imagine it's the funding thing, cost-saving in terms of travel with only one race out there now and facilities.
“But that's a pure stab in the dark.”
The Canadian Grand Prix was left off the 2004 F1 calendar due to anti-tobacco legislation that came into effect in October 2003. The law prohibited all cigarette advertising, which at the time was one of the major sources of sponsor revenue for F1 teams. Formula One Management used a clause in the contract that for the race to cancel the event In the end, the race was re-instated after the contract Normand Legault paid a special $30-million fee to Formula One Management to ensure the race would not be threatened again by Canada's prohibition on cigarette advertising.
The federal and Quebec governments each committed $6-million as part of the deal to keep Montreal's race on the F1 schedule.
The move leaves North America without a Formula One race for the first time in 43 years. The U.S. race was dropped from the F1 schedule last year.
The Montreal race was popular with drivers and teams and a huge success with spectators. The event would usually bring in over 300,000 fans for the three days of racing. It was the city's biggest week for tourism and estimated to produce more than $75-million in annual economic benefits for the local economy.
A problem in recent years has been the condition of the track, at an island park across from downtown Montreal. 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.
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.
- With files from Canadian Press and Associated Press
