After negotiating Singapore’s current Formula One deal, Bernie Ecclestone said in 2012 that the hardest thing was explaining to the authorities that “we don’t race for free.”
Four years on, the F1 boss appears to be frustrated again as he tries to keep one of the most glamorous races on the calendar after the contract expires next year, at a time when the city-state is weighing whether the event still makes economic sense.
With its tourism industry increasingly diversified, a stronger country brand than when it first hosted the event in 2008 and other major sporting events in the bag, Singapore seems to have the upper hand in the talks with F1.
Photo: Reuters
Moreover, Ecclestone and F1’s new owners, US cable TV mogul John Malone’s Liberty Media, face a new risk: with Malaysia pulling out of a new deal, they could altogether lose their presence in Southeast Asia, one of the world’s fastest-growing regions.
Formula One’s 86-year-old commercial supremo first told German magazine Auto Motor und Sport that Singapore does not want to host F1 any longer, then clarified he did not want to lose Singapore.
His comments suggested talks were getting tougher.
“I think Singapore has come in and negotiated hard and has realized they are in a position of strength to do so,” said James Walton, head of the Sports Business service line at Deloitte Singapore and Southeast Asia.
“This is one of the top-ranked grand prix ... and one of the markets that the key sponsors of F1 are most interested in,” Walton said.
Singapore’s government funds 60 percent of the S$150 million (US$105.13 million) it costs to host the race each year.
Analysts say the city-state is weighing the costs and benefits of staging the event in the future.
Singapore GP, the event’s organizer, said it would not comment on “ongoing commercial negotiations.”
A decision is expected before year-end, Ecclestone has said.
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