Montreal still wants Formula 1, offers less money

The city of Montreal has offered Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone the sum of $75 million to get a race, which is less than their last offer.

Ecclestone has stated that he wants a Canadian Grand Prix in the press, and the teams are all on board with getting Formula 1 in front of the North American audience, or so the motor racing media would have us believe. But is the $75 million that the Toronto Globe & Mail is reporting as the offer enough to attract the notoriously money-hungry bosses of F1?

The Globe reports that the $75 million deal over five years, offered at a London meeting two weeks ago, was “much less” than a similar offer made last November, which Ecclestone rejected. Bernie must be kicking himself about that particular rejection, because he may be forced to take the lower figure now due to changed economic conditions.

Under the new Concorde Agreement between the teams, they are now agitating for more exposure to markets like North America, so it looks like a deal is inevitable. Ecclestone may have to take a loss on this one.