Bernie's tobacco warning

On announcing the deal, Ecclestone said: "This contract is a normal standard contract that we have throughout Europe and it has a condition concerning tobacco legislation. Although the (Spanish) government is very happy to support this new contract, we have to bear in mind that the contract is subject to the legislation about what is going to happen on tobacco.

"We hope that we can get that all sorted out so that we don't have to keep disappearing out of Europe. That is the last thing we want to do, especially leaving Barcelona."

Ecclestone added that what he would like to see is something like a 14-day exemption, operating purely within the circuit boundary, enabling various motor racing and motor cycling events to continue unaffected.

Commenting on the new deal, RACC president Sebastia Salvado said: "I'm very happy because F1 is showing again its trust in the Circuit de Catalunya. The challenge now is to guarantee the continuity of the facility, which is not going to be easy due to the new generation of tracks such as Bahrain and Shanghai. We even read that Mr Ecclestone is going to get involved in the refurbishment of Silverstone circuit so that the UK doesn't lose its own GP.

"That said," he continued, "we believe that there are many grands prix in Europe and that it's unavoidable that Europe will lose some of its races to some of the new tracks. Not only because of the new facilities that have been built, but also because of some of the new regulations on tobacco that makes Europe a less competitive place than other countries."

This is the first public acknowledgement that F1 is seeking to continue with tobacco sponsorship beyond the previously widely accepted 2006 cut-off point.