Ecclestone: Belgian GP must go ahead

The future of the race has been thrown into doubt after the government of Belgium's south Walloon region faced being forced to fork out millions of pounds to honour a contract for the event at Spa-Francorchamps.

But despite discussions about the race, Ecclestone told Belgian newspaper Le Soir on Tuesday that there was no need for discussions because he believed the contract was watertight.

"There is a contract between us and the Walloon government," he said. "I am held to it and I do not see why it would still be necessary to discuss it.

"There is nothing any more but one concern: that the contract is respected. When a contract is signed, it should be respected. Period."

When asked about the fact that the Walloon government had asked to talk about the terms of the agreement, Ecclestone responded: "To negotiate. Why? There is no urgency. The contract already exists."

Ecclestone's stance is in contrast to warnings from the Walloon government earlier this month, who claimed that there would be limits as to how much they would pay out to bankroll the race.

"We are searching for a solution for the Grand Prix but not at any price," said Philippe Malburny, spokesman for Walloon's economy minister. "There are two possibilities, either we organise it or we don't."