Bernie Ecclestone could be sued at the conclusion of former F1 banker Gerhard Gribkowsky’s corruption trial.
The trial, surrounding a multi million payment from the F1 chief executive to Gribkowsky amid the sport’s sale some years ago, began this week in Munich.

According to a British newspaper report, prosecutors say that if Gribkowsky is found guilty, the $44 million must be paid to BayernLB because the Munich bank owned the relevant share in F1′s commercial rights.

But as Ecclestone and his family trust have only been called as witnesses, the prosecutors would “have to sue Mr Ecclestone and the trust to recover the … shortfall suffered by BayernLB”, the Independent said.

But “it is hard see how this could succeed, given that the bank’s investigations showed that it agreed to the fee and other board members were aware of it”, wrote journalists Christian Sylt and Caroline Reid.

Spa-Francorchamps fell more than 10,000 tickets short of its spectator target for the recent Belgian grand prix.

Only 52,500 spectators attended last Sunday’s race, after the organisers had targeted the figure of 65,000 in order to “achieve a balanced financial position”.

Crowds well above 100,000 were regularly recorded early last decade.

According to the AFP news agency in a French language report, the organisers are concerned about seeing the event’s local government funding reduced when the current contract expires in 2012.

“It is necessary to reduce the impact of this event on the finances of the Walloon region,” admitted local economy minister Jean-Claude Marcourt.

Added budget minister Andre Antoine: “It doesn’t mean we intend to end the contract. But at the time of negotiation, it (the finances) will be borne in mind.”

It was reported in August that Spa is under threat from potential rival hosts who can offer much higher annual promotional fees to formula one.

One solution known to be under consideration for Spa-Francorchamps is an annual race-alternating scheme with another European circuit.

“We are playing with the idea. That is the current situation, even if we are not quite at that stage,” Spa president Etienne Davignon told hln.be.

The actual financial figures for the 2010 event will only be known in October, and Spa official Andre Maes is not jumping to any conclusions.

“Obviously the horrible weather all weekend was little incentive for people to come,” he said.

7 million euros will be missing from the budget of F1′s governing FIA in 2011.

A report in the British Express newspaper claims the shortfall is due to the expiry of a fourteen-year run of annual fees paid by Formula One Management, headed by chief executive Bernie Ecclestone.

The deal, in which the sport’s commercial rights were handed over to Ecclestone, was signed in 1997.

The report said the 7 million loss represents 15 per cent of the FIA’s 48m annual budget, while the commercial rights generate almost a billion euros every year for FOM.

Experts said the FIA might have to revert to raising fees such as those paid by F1 drivers for their super licenses.

But a spokesman for the Paris-based Federation said: “I can’t give you the detail but it is not the case (that there is a hole in the budget).”

The FIA raised nearly 12,000 euros during the British grand prix weekend, mainly by imposing fines on F1 drivers for speeding.

Pedro de la Rosa’s 4,200 fine was the biggest for speeding, while Toro Rosso was fined $5000 for unsafely releasing Jaime Alguersuari into the pitlane.