The Turkish GP in jeopardy after 2010!

According to local media, the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul could be the last after Bernie Ecclestone doubled the contract amount to keep the race after next year. Turkish media claim that Ecclestone would be asking for $26 million (more than 18 million Euros) from Turkey starting in 2011, almost double the current contract.

This new request from Ecclestone seems to signify a definitive disappearance of the Istanbul race, which is already struggling to attract fans. The official figures for this year’s event report 36,000 tickets sold over the three days, while the capacity is 130,000 people.

The Hurriyet Daily reports that Ecclestone wrote to Faruk Nafiz Ozak, the State Minister in charge of sports, stating that he has set new conditions to the contract, including an increase in fees. The senior Turkish official responds that the fees demanded are not suitable for a country like Turkey.

« In countries like France or Germany, the head of Formula 1 is asking for something like 1.5 to 4 million, » he stated to the same newspaper.

The article finally states that political leaders and those from the circuit will make a decision on the agreement before the end of the month.