Formula 1 president Bernie Ecclestone has been pursuing a New York City Grand Prix for countless years. Finally, the 2013 schedule New Jersey Grand Prix of America looked as though Bernie's dream, and the dream of many racing fans alike, has finally materialized.
Unfortunately, even for a person as powerful as Ecclestone, you don't always get what you want. Despite a massive New Jersey PR push from F1 team Red Bull Racing throughout the summer, the 2013 Grand Prix of America now has a voided contract.
Just last week, a provisional 2013 schedule pencilled New Jersey in for a June race date. Now, Ecclestone has reportedly told Guardian newspaper that the organizers of the Grand Prix of America venue, "have not complied with the terms and conditions of the contract which is now gone away."
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This isn't to say that the New Jersey Grand Prix is completely trashed -- if anything, it's only swept under the carpet for now. Ecclestone admits that the organizers at Weehawken, NJ, "have come a long way with the circuit." That said, Bernie Ecclestone has opted to only pull off the race until the necessary funding required is met.
Similar obstacles were encountered by the organizers at the Austin, Texas, United States Grand Prix. Just as reports confirmed that the Texas venue was terminated, new life and new money was injected at the last minute to assure the project would continue forward.
If the New Jersey / New York City Grand Prix is faced with a similar challenge, we optimistically expect wealthy benefactors would step in as well.
In the meantime, the FIA World Motor Sport Council will be conducting a meeting later this Friday to finalize the Formula 1 schedule for 2013. We expect to learn more about the state of New Jersey when the dates are confirmed.
