Barely a month after handing a ten-year contract to Full Throttle Productions to act as promoter of a United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas,
Bernie Ecclestone has warned that there will be financial penalties if the race doesn't go ahead as planned in 2012.
The contract signed with the company headed by Tavo Hellmund will see a new venue purpose built to take F1 back to the USA although there remain plenty of question marks over where the circuit will be created and – more importantly – where the funding will come from to pay for it all.
It currently remains a mystery as to where the money is coming from which has led to people worrying whether or not Austin could go the same why as
Donington Park – which failed in its bid to host the British GP when the money wasn't there.
Speaking about the event, Ecclestone admitted that there would be financial penalties if the bid to host the race failed but said he was confident that he wouldn't need to use them.
"That's what the contract says," he was quoted by
ESPN. "It might turn out to be expensive for Tavo. We've got some penalty clauses, although I wouldn't want to use them."
"Until he doesn't [succeed], we won't know. You might say I couldn't run the 100 metres in seven seconds, but until I try, you don't know."