Indy set for new contract

The initial deal between Bernie Ecclestone and Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Tony George was for five races, beginning with the inaugural race in September 2000 and culminating in Sunday's race, which was moved to a June date in order to run it back-to-back with the other North American race in Canada.

At the circuit, spectators are being reminded to renew their tickets for 2005 upon leaving this year's race, which would appear to indicate George's intention to continue with the event. Ecclestone, meanwhile, says that the initial deal came with a two-race extension option.

The F1 commercial rights holder told the Indianapolis Star newspaper: "I said to Tony: 'I'm happy if you're happy. If you don't want me to pick up the option, I won't. And if you want to extend the contract beyond two years, I will'.

"We are going to make it work. I am committed. He [George] is happy with it and we should continue with it. I have a big respect for Tony. What he did here for us, I don't forget. It was a big thing to do. A massive thing."

One paddock rumour is that the June date, following so closely behind the Indy 500 in May, could hit spectator attendances hard enough to make George think hard about the viability of the Grand Prix.

However, Ecclestone has hinted that the June date is crucial to a long-term deal. Talking to German TV, he quipped: "If we get weather like this for the next seven years then we'd be very happy."

George said: "This is a good date for us. We plan to have F1 as part of our schedule for many years. We need to continue to build ourselves a fan base around this event. It needs more exposure in the mainstream [US] media. We have a successful event here, and I hope it's big enough to justify a second round in America."

Ecclestone responded: "I'd like to have a second race here [in America]."

There is a common desire to grow F1 in the USA - important markets for most of the manufacturers involved in the sport - and Ecclestone also told the Indianapolis Star that he has had preliminary talks with New York about a race in Manhattan, as well as discussions about reviving the Long Beach Grand Prix. That was a west coast F1 venue between 1976 and 1983 before pricing itself out of the market and becoming a CART event.