The Canadian Grand Prix will return to the Formula 1 calendar next year after organisers reached an agreement with F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone.
The Canadian GP, which had been part of the F1 World Championship since 1967, was dropped for this season as a result of a financial disagreement.
The Montreal race has been provisionally agreed for 6 June 2010.
The calendar is not expected to be confirmed until October and Ecclestone has yet to comment on Canada’s return.
“I’ve always been confident of being able to resolve the dispute,” said race organiser Normand Legault. BBC Sport
“I never doubted that the Canadian race would regain its rightful place on the FIA schedule, and my discussions with F1 management led me to believe that the event would return soon.”
Last year marked the first time in more than 20 years that the race in Montreal was dropped from the F1 calendar. The Canadian Grand Prix celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2008.
Last year’s race was cancelled because of a dispute between Legault and Ecclestone, with the latter reportedly having said he was owed $12 million by GPF1 for the last three races in Montreal, ending with the 2008 event.
GPF1 spokesman Paul Wilson said no details of how the dispute was resolved would be made public because of “a confidential agreement” between Normand and Ecclestone.
“Let’s just put it this way, it’s to our very great satisfaction,” Wilson said. “That’s it. We’re not giving out details.” National Post
Finance Minister Raymond Bachand said he wasn’t ready to make any official announcement on Monday, but hoped to have good news in the near future.
“I’m happy that Mr. Legault has been able to settle his dispute with Mr. Ecclestone,” Bachand said.
“Our negotiations with Ecclestone are going well, the negotiations are actually over, but we haven’t signed anything yet but we’re very confident.”
The Canadian event was dropped in favour of a new race in Abu Dhabi, despite Montreal being one of the better-attended events, with nearly 300,000 spectators for the entire weekend.
Istanbul took Montreal’s calendar spot on the circuit this year but this month’s race in Turkey was hurt by poor attendance.
The event is a tremendous boon for Montreal’s economy, creating an estimated $100 million per year in revenues and economic spinoffs for the city. The Canadian Press
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