Categories: 2016 SeasonF1 News, Reports and Race Results

Ecclestone casts more doubt on 2016 USGP

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Bernie Ecclestone has voiced his doubts over whether the United States Grand Prix will take place in 2016.

The race at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin is under threat after the State of Texas reduced its funding this year after a review of its impact on the local economy. While the race was named on the 2016 calendar marked with an asterisk as it is subject to agreement with the promoter, Ecclestone told Auto Motor und Sport the current outlook is not a positive one.

Asked if the race will take place in 2016, Ecclestone replied: "Forecasts are difficult."

And Ecclestone - who is known to want more races in the United States - says he should not be blamed for the uncertainty over Austin's future.

"They knew exactly what it would cost when they signed the contract with us. They knew that they would have to build a race track, and what it costs to put on a grand prix."

Alexander Rossi recently told F1i he believes it would be a "massive loss" if the race were to drop off the calendar.

American businessman Tavo Hellmund - who was involved in the Austin project for a spell - has previously confirmed he is working on a new race in North America, understood to be in California.

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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.