Prime Minister Erdogan refuses to support the Turkish Grand Prix

Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish Prime Minister, refuses to give his approval for a public subsidy for the Turkish Grand Prix. F1 should therefore ultimately have only 19 races on the calendar.

In mid-December, Bernie Ecclestone was very clear: it was Turkey or nothing for the twentieth race of the season. But the local organizers had to rely on the government authorities to obtain the necessary budget to hold the event. Out of a budget of 20 million dollars, the Turkish government was supposed to provide 13 million.

The Minister of Sports had already made it clear that the government was not in favor of it: A possible return of Formula 1 to Turkey is not on the government’s agenda. This is a matter concerning exclusively the private sector. If it wishes, the private sector can and will succeed in bringing Formula 1 back to Turkey, but it is out of the question for us to settle the amount of the fees that have been proposed to a private company.

The local daily *Hurriyet* now reveals that Tayyip Erdogan vetoed such a release of funds, which should definitively end Turkey’s return to the Formula 1 calendar as early as this season. Apart from a possible agreement with the Red Bull Ring – an idea recently rejected by Bernie Ecclestone – or an even more unlikely agreement with the French government, it is therefore unlikely that FOM will find a twentieth candidate capable of aligning as soon as /f1/actualite/14835-bernie-ecclestone-proche-dune-decision-concernant-le-calendrier-2013.html.

With two months to go before the season starts, the FIA still needs to finalize its final calendar. An agreement must still be reached with the Nürburgring to allow the German Grand Prix to take place on the Black Forest circuit. An agreement could moreover be signed in the coming days to resolve the German issue.

With the participation of www.Racingbusiness.fr