Carey says deal with Vietnam met with 'excitement'

Formula 1 CEO Chase Carey pushed back the criticism linked to Vietnam's arrival on the F1 calendar, insisting the sport's deal with Hanoi has been met with "excitement".

The Vietnamese Grand Prix will take place on the streets of the south Asian country's capital in 2020. However, Liberty Media's endeavors into a country with no motorsport heritage was not well received by F1 fans.

But last week, members of the Formula One Promoters Association also expressed their worries that adding new races to F1's schedule could be "to the detriment of existing events". Carey attempted to alleviate the FOPA's worries however.

• Carey perplexed by 'strange' timing of F1 promoters' criticism

"Certainly we are not pursuing new venues at the expense of existing [races]," he told ESPN.

"The reality is we've renewed [race contracts], since we took control about two years ago, and the only race we haven't renewed is Malaysia, which was a mutual decision, so that's the reality.

"That being said, we want long-term partnerships and I think it's important to provide a freshness and a new energy to it.

"Vietnam is a new race and is going to be a great race, so I think it's exciting for the fans and the reception we have had around the world is excitement for it," added the American executive.

"We want to be in some markets we are not in where there are some opportunities for it, and there are some that we are in but we are not there in the way we think we can be in.

"So in the U.S. we are clearly in Texas but we think there is an opportunity to be bigger there.

"I think we certainly value our existing partners and most of those relationships are long term and I expect most of them to continue.

"But I think it is important that where there is an opportunity to add something special, we can add a new race."

While Liberty is pursuing new opportunities, five basic races on the current F1 calendar - Silverstone, Monza, Barcelona, Hockenheim and Mexico - will see their contracts expire at the end of the year.

Carey said that negotiations are ongoing with each individual organizer, but F1's boss would not be drawn into a public discussion about the details of the talks.

"As I've said in the past, we will talk about them when they are done," he added.

"This sport seems to like to talk -- talk first and act second. I think these are complicated deals and we are engaged in each of them and we will see where we go.

"There are issues we have got to wrestle around and we do have others that are being aggressive about wanting to be a part of the calendar and we don't have that many slots.

"But I'm not going to get into details, at this point those are private discussions between us and promoters, and Silverstone chose to make it public a couple of years ago, but we have continued to deal with it as a private discussion, with them and our other partners."

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