Singapore Grand Prix to Remain on F1 Calendar Until 2017

The Singapore Grand Prix is set to continue for the next five years after a new agreement was secured.

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has been in talks with the Singapore authorities. The race was first staged in 2008.

It is the only Grand Prix on the Formula One calendar to take place at night, doctor timed to coincide with lucrative prime time TV slots in Europe.

At stake had been a reported S$50m (US$41m) fee that the Singapore government and race promoter Singapore GP pay the rights holder, link Formula One Administration, and owned by private-equity group CVC.

Formula One Chief Executive Officer Bernie Ecclestone didn’t comment on the deal but The Sunday Times reported that he likes having the event in Singapore and the event’s cost was discussed in the negotiations, citing Ecclestone at a press conference. He declined to give details of the new five-year agreement, the newspaper reported yesterday.

“It’s a Grand Prix we look forward to,” Button, who won the 2009 Formula One championship, said in an interview in the city-state on Sept. 22. “Singapore has done it really well. There aren’t many cities around the world who can put on a night race like Singapore.”

S Iswaran, second minister for trade and industry in the Singapore government, said the negotiations had “taken some time because all parties had very specific objectives and wanted to arrive at a mutually beneficial outcome”.