The future of the Turkish Grand Prix is in doubt after an official claimed that the finance ministry would not agree to the doubling of the race fee.
The head of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, Murat Yalcinta, said that Bernie Ecclestone had asked for the price to increase from next year, with the current contract running out after this season's race. He said that after a board meeting about the grand prix, it appeared that the race was unlikely to go ahead.
"Each year the price of Formula 1 for the racing ministries company was $13 million," Yalcinta wrote on his Twitter page. "After this year Ecclestone asked for $26 million."
No official statement was made by the Turkish Grand Prix organisers, but the race has suffered from poor attendances since its debut in 2005. Bernie Ecclestone is unlikely to be overly concerned at the potential of losing the race, with the new United States Grand Prix in Austin being added to the 2012 season; at least one race would need to be dropped in order to keep the number of races on the calendar below 20.
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.
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