Construction of the Austin circuit suspended
The managers of the Circuit of the Americas, which is set to host the return of Formula 1 to the United States in 2012, have announced that construction work on the circuit has been suspended until a contract is signed to confirm that the 2012 United States Grand Prix will indeed take place on this track.
The future of the 2012 United States Grand Prix continues to grow darker, with many doubts expressed by Bernie Ecclestone, particularly in recent weeks, about meeting the deadlines. However, the track owners have always claimed that the infrastructure would be ready on time. Moreover, the race was confirmed on the calendar during the recent F1 Commission meeting.
But the tensions between the different parties – Bernie Ecclestone, the owner of F1’s commercial rights, Full Throttle Productions, promoter of the Grand Prix, and the owners of the Circuit of the Americas responsible for construction – have been rising in recent weeks – Ecclestone even setting an ultimatum for the signing of a contract between the promoter and the circuit’s owner.
The objective of the different parties is to put pressure on the others to reject responsibility in case of cancellation. And it’s the turn of the Circuit of the Americas’ owners to put pressure on Full Throttle Productions. Indeed, they decided yesterday to suspend the construction of the circuit until an agreement is reached.
The organizers of the Circuit of the Americas, a leading motorsport facility currently under construction in Austin, Texas, have suspended construction of the project until a contract ensuring that the United States Grand Prix will be held at the Circuit of the Americas in 2012 is signed, a statement specifies.
The construction of the circuit will not continue unless a contract stipulating that the 2012 United States Grand Prix will take place at the Circuit of the Americas is signed by the various parties, while the race is scheduled to be held on November 18, 2012, less than a year away.
The contract between Formula 1 and the Circuit of the Americas was not delivered to the circuit officials on time as agreed in a previous accord. While the construction of the Circuit of the Americas is progressing as planned with more than 300 workers on site each day, all work is suspended with immediate effect. The delivery of the contract to host a Formula 1 Grand Prix will allow construction to resume, the statement specifies.
