Bernie says Australian GP is as important as Monaco

Earlier in the year Melbourne’s Lord Mayor created headlines when he poured a liberal dose of hot water on the long-term future of the Australian Grand Prix being held in the Victorian capital.

At the time F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone seemed only too happy to talk about relieving Melbourne of its Grand Prix hosting responsibilities. However, it would appear the 80-year-old has had a change of tune, telling local media that, “Australia is as important to us as Monaco.

“It’s part of the world championship and has been for an awful long time. We’d hate to think that we’re going to lose Australia.”

With that said, Ecclestone still left the door wide open for the event departing Melbourne, at the very least, if not Australia, “In the case of Melbourne, if the product is too expensive for them, we understand that and when the contract comes to an end there’s no need to renew it.

“We wouldn’t force somebody to buy something that they don’t want or think is too expensive.

“We get massive worldwide television coverage—if that’s not important well, okay, don’t buy the product.”

While the teams and drivers generally love coming to Australia to race, the time difference is unattractive to European audiences. A criticism Melbourne has had to defend for many years now, with the twilight starting time only a small consolation.

[Source: Reuters | Pic: Renault/LAT]