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ISTANBUL, Turkey - The Turkish Formula 1 GP is facing the axe in 2012 due to a disagreement with Bernie Ecclestone over payments for the race, the head of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce has said.
"It looks like the F1 race will not be held in Istanbul next year," Murat Yalcintas announced on his Twitter account.
There was no official statement but the Chamber of Commerce confirmed the comments separately to Reuters. Ecclestone's office was closed for the Easter.
The Hurriyet daily quoted Yalcintas as saying the government had rejected a bid by Ecclestone to double the payment to stage the race to $26 million.
"Because it found this figure very high it looks like it (finance ministry) will not make the payment. That is the reason the race is not happening," he said.
"F1 says goodbye to Istanbul," said a headline in the Haberturk newspaper.
EMPTY STANDS
Ecclestone said in May 2009 that Turkey could expect to stay on the F1 calendar long-term despite attracting poor crowds to the circuit near Istanbul's second airport on the Asian side of the Bosphorus.
In 2009 only 36 000 three-day passes were sold – fewer than for some of the pre-season tests in Spain - and in 2009 some of the stands were empty.
The current contract runs to the end of the 2011 GP on May 8.
The undulating, anti-clockwise track is popular with drivers. Some have compared it to Spa's challenging layout with the left-handed triple apex turn eight a real test when taken at around 250km/h.
Ferrari's Brazilian Felipe Massa won there in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
HERE COMES RUSSIA
Turkey's absence from the calendar will make it easier for Ecclestone to slot in the planned US GP in 2012 in Austin, Texas, pencilled in for a likely back-to-back with Canada.
The 2011 season was due to have a record 20 races but the Bahrain season-opener was cancelled due to unrest in the country. Other races might have had to be shed to accommodate the US and then Russia, the latter from 2014.
"It looks like the F1 race will not be held in Istanbul next year," Murat Yalcintas announced on his Twitter account.
There was no official statement but the Chamber of Commerce confirmed the comments separately to Reuters. Ecclestone's office was closed for the Easter.
The Hurriyet daily quoted Yalcintas as saying the government had rejected a bid by Ecclestone to double the payment to stage the race to $26 million.
"Because it found this figure very high it looks like it (finance ministry) will not make the payment. That is the reason the race is not happening," he said.
"F1 says goodbye to Istanbul," said a headline in the Haberturk newspaper.
EMPTY STANDS
Ecclestone said in May 2009 that Turkey could expect to stay on the F1 calendar long-term despite attracting poor crowds to the circuit near Istanbul's second airport on the Asian side of the Bosphorus.
In 2009 only 36 000 three-day passes were sold – fewer than for some of the pre-season tests in Spain - and in 2009 some of the stands were empty.
The current contract runs to the end of the 2011 GP on May 8.
The undulating, anti-clockwise track is popular with drivers. Some have compared it to Spa's challenging layout with the left-handed triple apex turn eight a real test when taken at around 250km/h.
Ferrari's Brazilian Felipe Massa won there in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
HERE COMES RUSSIA
Turkey's absence from the calendar will make it easier for Ecclestone to slot in the planned US GP in 2012 in Austin, Texas, pencilled in for a likely back-to-back with Canada.
The 2011 season was due to have a record 20 races but the Bahrain season-opener was cancelled due to unrest in the country. Other races might have had to be shed to accommodate the US and then Russia, the latter from 2014.