Organisers have hit back at accusations that the event owes a substantial amount of money to the Bernie Ecclestone-run Formula One Management for events leading up to its recent axe from the F1 calendar and said that they are seeking talks with Ecclestone.
The FIA last week claimed that the decision to drop Canada from next year's schedule resulted from 'a contractual dispute' between Normand Legault, the executive director of promoter GPF1, and Ecclestone, with the amount involved anywhere between $10-20 million. The decision, taken by the FIA's World Motor Sport Council, means that there will be no F1 race in Montreal for the first time since 1987, despite the Canadian race having three years of a five-year contract still to run.
Event organisers, however, have attempted to clarify the situation, insisting that the period - and amount - involved are not as substantial as claimed, insisting that Ecclestone has 'received and accepted' the terms of payment that were fully agreed to for the 2006 and 2007 events.
Paul Wilson, the vice-president of marketing for the Grand Prix du Canada, told Eurosport: "It is totally untrue to suggest that our organisation has defaulted on payments owed for the past three years. It is true that we have a commercial disagreement regarding our monetary obligations, but only for 2008.
"This is the result of an historical difference within the contractual understanding between the two parties. We were working hard to resolved the matter in order to meet our 2008 obligations when Mr Ecclestone, without notice, surprised everyone by unilaterally dropping the Canadian Grand Prix from the 2009 schedule [on] 7 October."
According to the Canadian media, three levels of the national government structure have confirmed that it is vital the every attempt is made to save the event, with representatives of the federal, Quebec and municipal governments seeking a meeting with Ecclestone to discuss what would be required for the race to be reinstated.
