Bernie Ecclestone explains why he rejected Chicago Grand Prix bid. Ecclestone insists that he would take F1 to California.

While discussion on the possibility of Miami hosting a round of the Formula One world championship as early as next year has increased during the last few weeks, British business magnate and the former chief executive of the Formula One Group Bernie Ecclestone has revealed that he rejected a bid from Chicago to host a race: “I got Chicago to agree five years ago,” he told Forbes, “but they weren’t going to pay enough money. The windy city… I thought I could get more somewhere else,” – Bernie Ecclestone explained.

Speaking earlier this week, Irish-American executive and chief executive officer and executive chairman of the Formula One Group Chase Carey appeared to backtrack on Liberty Media’s previous claim that it was seeking to expand the calendar to as many as 25 races, the American insisting that he is looking for “quality over quantity”.

However, his claim comes at a time there is increasing speculation that new events in Vietnam (Hanoi) and Miami, possibly as early as next year, are set to be confirmed. In expanding the Formula One calendar, Media Liberty has made no secret of the fact that this would focus on its own American backyard, however, other than Miami and ongoing speculation over a return to Las Vegas, little has been heard.

On the other hand, Bernie Ecclestone insists that rather than the ‘Windy City’, he could take F1 back to ‘The Golden State’. “I could do a deal this afternoon for a race in California,” he concluded, as reported by Forbes.