F1 committed 'long term' to Barcelona and Montreal

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Formula 1 boss Chase Carey says that he's committed to the sport remaining at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the long term.

And there have been assurances from organisers that the future of the Canadian Grand Prix is not at risk from plans to add a Miami race in 2019.

Barcelona's contract to host the Spanish Grand Prix comes to an end next year. However Carey says that he expects to agree a new deal with the venue in the coming months.

"Our goal is to reach a new agreement with Barcelona," Carey told Spanish reporters. "We want to be in Barcelona in the long term.

"Forever? You could almost say that," he added.

But that doesn't mean it's a foregone conclusion, or that there won't be some hard bargaining before a new deal is agreed.

"It's not the only circuit in Spain," he cautioned. "Very soon we will begin to see if we can find a path that benefits us both."

Meanwhile, yesterday's news that F1's new American owners are close to finalising a deal with Miami has left some traditional venues anxious about where it leaves them.

Miami closes in on deal to host F1 Grand Prix

Miami's City Commission will vote next week on a multi-year agreement to bring the sport to Florida in 2019.

Carey is also believed to be keen in other destination cities such as Las Vegas, New York and Los Angeles in addition to the current US Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

That's left organisers of the Canadian Grand Prix north of the border worried about the competition. The more races in North America, the thinner the attendance figures might be spread.

But Montreal organiser Dumontier told La Presse that "The Miami Grand Prix will have no impact on us.

"F1 is in charge of the logistics aspect, and we just signed a ten year contract that will take us to 2029," he added.

Dumontier was also insistent that it was unlikely that Montreal's mid-June spot on the calendar would be changed.

"[Rescheduling] has never been part of the discussions I've had," he said. "I don't see this issue coming up".

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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.