Spanish GP: F1 to renegotiate fees for races without fans
Formula One organizers are open to renegotiating hosting fees for races that may take place without fans this season because of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the general manager of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya said.
Joan Fontseré told The Associated Press that Liberty Media is “conscious” that if races need to go on without fans the contracts with event promoters will have to be somehow renegotiated.
“They are conscious that this is an exceptional situation,” Fontseré said Tuesday. “We are obviously on the same page. If they want to keep some races on because of the TV rights, because of the teams ... they know that our income (will be reduced), they realize that this year it will be like that, so for sure we are on the same page.”
He said Spanish Grand Prix organizers at this moment are not even considering a race with fans in Barcelona. He said it's not only ticket sales that would be affected if the event goes on with empty stands and no hospitality suites. “When the Catalan government invests in F1, it's not only for the tickets that we sell, it's also for the financial impact that the event has in the country, in Catalonia,” Fontseré said. “The economic impact for the country will be very reduced. It means no income for taxis, for hotels ... so that changes completely the agreement between the two parties.”
Liberty Media did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Spanish GP brings in more than €160,000 million ($173 million) to the region, with the total of its financial impact during the year nearing €300 million ($325 million), according to data from the track. The attendance for last year's race-weekend surpassed 160,000 people.
Fontseré said he received a couple of phone calls from F1 CEO Chase Carey to discuss possible solutions for the Spanish GP. He said Carey said the series is trying to run as many races as possible, but it was still too early to know when the season would actually resume, whether it would be in the summer or only in the fall.
Nine of the 22 races have already been postponed or canceled, and F1 recently put half of its staff on furlough until the end of May. Some teams also took similar actions to reduce costs.
F1 organizers have said they hope to hold between 15 and 18 races this year. The Australian GP and the Monaco GP have already been canceled.