Carey aiming for long-term deal to keep Spanish GP

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New Formula 1 boss Chase Carey says that he hopes to sign a long term deal to keep the Spanish Grand Prix on the calendar.

The current contract - negotiated by Bernie Ecclestone two years ago - extends to the end of 2019. But Carey said he hopes Barcelona would continue to be part of the line-up for many years to come.

"We have a contract to continue with Barcelona. We hope it will also continue to be the case in the future," Carey told the Spanish media this weekend.

"Our intention is that the contract will be in the long term, and we'll put our efforts into making it the case," he added

As well as hosting the annual Spanish Prix, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is also a popular winter testing location.

"We choose to be here in this part of Europe, because this continent is very important to the sport," Carey said, adding that Barcelona itself was "beautiful and magical city".

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The first Spanish Grand Prix on the FIA calendar was in 1951, when the race was won by Juan Manuel Fangio in an Alfa Romero. The next race to be held at Pedralbes was won by Ferrari's Mike Hawthorn in 1954.

The event became a regular fixture of the Formula calendar from 1967, missing only four years between 1982 and 1985. Venues for the race have included Jarama, Montjuïc and Jerez. But from 1991, the Spanish GP has been held continually at the 2.892-mile, 16-turn Barcelona track.

Carey added that he is happy with how the 2017 season is going. New aerodynamic and tyre regulations have resulted in faster cars and closer competition on track in the first four races.

"We have plans to make formula one ever more interesting and attractive to the fans," he said.

"So far we've had three different winners in four races and that's making this championship very interesting."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.