Ecclestone eyes Portugal's return

Bernie Ecclestone is showing interest in getting the Portuguese Grand Prix back in the Formula One calendar, now that the country has a new, state-of-the-art circuit in Algarve. For 13 years, between 1984 and 1996 the Portuguese Grand Prix was a very popular venue for teams and drivers, with the Estoril circuit holding the race and becoming a favourite test track during the winter season. But the facilities were never properly upgraded and, in the end, Ecclestone pulled the plug on the deal, cancelling the 1997 Grand Prix and replacing it with the European Grand Prix in Jerez de la Frontera, in Spain, where Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve famously clashed in the World Championship decider.

For the last ten years, with the exception of Turkey and Valencia, Ecclestone has been moving the World Championship out of Europe, organising races in Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Malaysia, Singapore and China, with deals already done to hold races in India and South Korea in the near future.

But now Ecclestone seems to have decided to look for new venues in Europe, as he’s concerned about the situation of the French, German and British Grand Prix and knows the teams will always demand at least half of the races to be held in Europe. The promised new Yvelines track, at Flins, close to Paris, has yet to have its budget approved by the French National Assembly and even if everything goes according to plan, it won’t be ready before 2011. In Germany there are clear signs Hockenheim won’t be able to hold the Grand Prix again and with the Nurburgring unable to finance it more than every two years, the race may disappear if Ecclestone tries to impose a yearly deal with the track. As for the British Grand Prix, there is a contract with Donington to hold the race in 2010, but there are many doubts about the financing of the project, meaning there’s a serious chance the race may be scrapped altogether from the calendar.

With all this going on, Ecclestone has been looking for new venues in Europe, and might be keen to get Portugal back on the calendar.

The new circuit in Algarve is already built and fully functional, having held two F1 tests since it was opened in December, and has been highly regarded by the teams and drivers. The circuit is 50km from an international airport with direct motorway access, and has more than one thousand hotels and resorts in the region. There is also the fact that the weather in the region allows Ecclestone to hold a race as early as in April or as late as in October without much risk of being caught by rain or cold.

Ecclestone had planning to visit the track during the last test but the bad weather scrubbed this. Ecclestone had his people inspect the facilities and the surrounding area. According to sources close to Ecclestone, he might be looking to hold a Grand Prix in Algarve as soon as 2010, making it the last European race of the season, in the second half of September.