Ecclestone Loses $100M to Secure 2010 Canadian GP

One has rarely seen Bernie Ecclestone, the very boss of Formula One Championship, defeated in his attempt to land a lucrative F1 deal. Until now, everything he touched turned immediately to gold, and consequently brought him and Formula One a lot of money. Having said that, his latest deal in the sport doesn't quite fall under the same rules, as it appears he dropped more than half of his financial demands in order to secure an F1 event in North America.

The most recent reports from Canada had revealed that Ecclestone was in advanced talks with the Montreal mayor Gerald Tremblay for the sport's return to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve starting 2010. While the 78-year old Brit was very confident about the prospect of securing a new deal with the Canadian officials, Tremblay was quite the opposite.

He then publicly revealed that Bernie's financial requirements are impossible to fulfill and, unless he reconsiders his offer, there won't be any Canadian GP next year.

According to local reports yesterday, it seems the two parties have come to a compromise. While Bernie's initial offer was for a $175m five-year agreement, the new deal was signed for only $75m, still per a 5-year period of time. Therefore, no less than $100m off Ecclestone's pockets.

While some argue this decision was agreed upon by the Brit because of the current economic crisis, others link it to the demands of the Formula One manufacturers. “The Globe and Mail also said the 78-year-old was pressured by his bosses at CVC, the majority owners of F1's commercial rights, to keep carmakers including Renault and Toyota happy and committed to the sport,” the GMM news agency reports.

“It seems CVC decided to appease them with a quick return to North America,” added the report.

Formula One's return to North America is also good news for US' newly-developed team US Grand Prix Engineering, who'll debut in the series in 2010. At their first campaign in the Great Circle, Peter Windsor's and Ken Anderson's team will benefit from the support of their home fans, another reason for the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve's grandstands to be full next year.