Agreement on Montreal upgrade

14/06/2016
NEWS STORY

As part of the deal in 2014 which saw Montreal agree a new contract with Formula One Management to keep F1 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve until 2024, a $32m (£17.6m) upgrade was agreed.

However, two years later there is no sign of the upgrade and consequently, ahead of last weekend's race, F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone warned that if the work wasn't completed by 2017 organisers would be in breach of the contract and that the future of the event was in doubt.

Montreal mayor Denis Coderre insists there is not a problem however, and agreement has been reached with Ecclestone and Pierre Desrochers, head of the city's executive committee, on a number of upgrades including enlarging the paddock area.

Coderre insists the planned work was delayed by a disagreement over a number of issues including which installations at the circuit would be permanent.

"There will be another deadline," he told The Canadian Press, "but there's a handshake and we will finalize everything by the end of July.

"There's no problem," he added. "We needed some clarification regarding the paddocks and all that because when you're talking about millions of dollars, it's taxpayers' money, and if someone said 'this is what I want' and the other says 'no' and it takes a few months, of course you won't be able to fulfil the deadline.

"So we agreed we had to clear the air and check it out. We agreed on what we need to do and we will do it."

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Published: 14/06/2016
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