Bernie Ecclestone has met yet again in London with David Douillet, the French sports minister.

The F1 chief executive confirmed this week that a deal to alternate an annual calendar spot between France and Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps beginning next year is now close.

“Spa have agreed; apparently they’re going to do it in (Paul) Ricard,” Ecclestone told the BBC.

The French sports daily L’Equipe reports that the 81-year-old’s latest meeting with Douillet is “another step towards the return of the grand prix de France”.

The meeting, reportedly confirmed by “several sources including those in Belgium”, is Ecclestone’s second with Douillet in 2012.

Bernie Ecclestone has revealed the formula one calendar could expand beyond 20 races.

Originally, the 2012 schedule featured an unprecedented 21 dates, but FIA president Jean Todt insisted the number would ultimately drop to 20 as agreed with the teams.

Indeed, the latest version circulated in the Hungaroring paddock last weekend featured 20 races, with Turkey dropped.

The teams, fearing staff burnout, are keen for the calendar to remain capped at 20 races per season.

But Williams chairman Adam Parr told Reuters this week that the schedule “can increase a little bit” in conjunction with a change to the event format.

“We could have 21 (races),” F1 chief executive Ecclestone, the author of the annual calendar, told the Daily Express.

He suggested the teams will agree to an extra race on the grounds that the one it would need to replace might be Monaco or another favourite.

“If we say we have got to get rid of Monaco, they would say we would rather not,” predicted Ecclestone.

Bernie Ecclestone has admitted the possibility that Barcelona could lose the Spanish grand prix.
Circuit de Catalunya officials recently rubbished reports that F1′s other Spanish host, Valencia, had proposed to replace Barcelona on the calendar from 2012.

“Two weeks ago it looked like Barcelona was not going to have the race any more, and not just next year,” F1 chief executive Ecclestone told Spain’s TV3 television before departing the Nurburgring.

He then admitted the possibility that Barcelona and Valencia might from now on annually alternate the running of a single Spanish grand prix.

Ecclestone, 80, also said Spa-Francorchamps and France might similarly alternate the hosting rights to a single annual calendar slot in the future.

“The negotiations to alternate Barcelona and Valencia are still on,” he is quoted as saying by EFE news agency.

Historic Monza is more important to formula one than Rome, the Italian capital’s mayor Gianni Alemanno has admitted.
Rome came close to joining the sport’s annual calendar until Bernie Ecclestone ruled that each country should host only a single formula one race per year.

That scuppered the chances of a street event in the EUR district, and Alemanno confirmed to Italian LA7 news that he only wanted to bring F1 to Rome if it could have complemented the historic Italian grand prix at Monza.

“We proposed to have a formula one grand prix in Rome when it was practicably possible to have two grands prix in Italy; one at Monza and another in Rome,” he said.

“Then Ecclestone told us there could only be one grand prix in Italy and we said that the history is more important, so it (F1) was more important to Monza,” added Alemanno.

He added that Rome does not “steal things around Italy”.

“We respect the country just as we want respect for the role of Rome,” said Alemanno.

F1 should think about changing the race start time for grands prix, according to Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo.
Most races on the annual calendar traditionally kick off in the early hours of the afternoon.

“I don’t think it’s good that in July or August the races begin at 2 o’clock when most people are laying on the beach,” the Italian told Germany’s Sport Bild.

“Football games don’t get started until 5 o’clock or later,” added Montezemolo.

He also maintained his push for leading F1 teams to be allowed to field three cars.

“We don’t want to build it for the Scuderia, but for another team,” said Montezemolo. “A Spanish (team), an American, whatever.”

Organisers of the Bahrain grand prix want the race to retain its current top spot on the sport’s annual calendar.
Dating back to 1996, Melbourne was the traditional host of the sport’s season opener, but the Sakhir venue in Bahrain took over at the head of the schedule in 2010.

The Middle Eastern race will also kick off the 2011 championship this March, despite fierce criticism of last year’s unexciting season opener in Bahrain.

“We have had fantastic races with great touches,” insisted the circuit’s chief executive Shaikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa at the 2011 race’s launch this week.

“We’re very proud that we have the opening round,” he added.

“We worked very hard to secure the first race with Formula One Management. It is a challenge and I’d like to thank the support of the F1 management and Bernie Ecclestone.

“It’s very important to us and our sponsors to be the first race and it means people are talking about the race for three months instead of two weeks, which is what happens if we are the third,” Shaikh Salman added.

The Singaporean government is yet to decide whether to extend its formula one race contract beyond 2012.

Earlier this weekend, F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone said he would be happy if the sport continued to return to the Asian city-state for another 20 years.

Singapore, which became F1′s first night race in 2008 with a five-year deal, has become a highlight of the annual calendar.

But senior minister of state S. Iswaran said on Sunday the government would need to weigh up the costs and benefits before making a decision about the future of the event.

“We want to make sure the economic benefits are justifiable going forward,” he told reporters at the Marina Bay circuit on Sunday night.

“I would say the decision to proceed will rest on a robust cost-benefit analysis, and clearly the terms on any deal we get going forward,” Iswaran added.

Local reports said the current deal includes a two-year option.

Organisers of the historic Belgian grand prix are concerned about the future of F1′s popular Spa-Francorchamps round beyond 2012.

Whilst revealing this week that 40,000 tickets have been sold so far for the forthcoming August 29 event, the officials said Spa is under increasing pressure from international venues who have more money to spend.

“The ticket sales for this year are relatively good,” said spokesman Christian Lahaye.

“We hope to reach the figure of 2007, with 65,000 tickets sold, to allow us to achieve a balanced financial position,” he added.

According to the Flemish newspaper De Morgen, Spa’s F1 future could depend on the new Concorde Agreement post-2012 expanding the annual calendar to up to 25 races.

With the influx of new international races promising much higher annual promotion fees, the report said Spa-Francorchamps’ race organisers are worried.

“There is no shortage of candidates (for grands prix),” Spa-Francorchamps circuit boss Andre Maes is quoted by Belga news agency.

“Even France doesn’t have a grand prix,” he said.

According to Bernie Ecclestone, formula one could survive “without Monaco”.

With India making its debut next year and the US returning to the 2012 calendar, the F1 chief executive is also desperate to tap into the Russian market.

But he is believed to be confined to a new agreement with team bosses to cap the annual calendar at 20 races.

With eight of the 19 current races, F1′s traditional heartland of Europe is the most represented on the schedule, but those venues pay the lowest promotional fees.

The Independent newspaper claims the average race fee is now $31.2m, but it is believed that historic Monaco pays nothing.

“The Europeans are going to have to pay more money or we will have to go somewhere else,” said Briton Ecclestone, 79.

“We can do without Monaco,” he added, admitting that axing the famous street venue is not likely but “they don’t pay enough”.

In 2007, Ecclestone admitted that Monaco is the best grand prix of the year. “Monaco always comes close to the top, doesn’t it, because it is Monaco,” he said then.