The Shanghai government "has dropped a firm hint that this year's Chinese Grand Prix will not be the last one," according to Frankie Mao of MOTORSPORT. The '17 race, which is scheduled to take place on April 9, "is the final event under the terms of China's current contract."
Although race organizers Juss Event Management "have previously declared their confidence in sorting out a new deal, it is understood that there has been no rush to finalise matters."
However, in documents published by the Shanghai government, it has been made clear that the F1 race "remains an integral part of the local authority's plans to drive growth in the region."
In what was called the "Shanghai Sports Industry Development Program 2016-2020," the local government said that "it wanted showpiece events like F1."
The government publication said, "By 2020 [Shanghai] commits to keeping the momentum of holding an iconic event in each month. Firstly, to improve the operation and effectiveness of the eight exiting big events, such as the F1 Chinese Grand Prix. ... Thirdly, to grow the appeal of Shanghai to international top commercial sport events ... and add 1-2 big events by 2020."
According to the plan, Shanghai will be obliged to "increase the spillover effect of exiting renowned sport events including tennis, track and field, marathon, equestrianism, motor racing, snooker, cycling, etc.," in order to expand business interests (MOTORSPORT, 2/7).
