Singapore safe on F1 calendar – Ecclestone

(GMM) Singapore is contracted to host formula one until 2012, and according to Bernie Ecclestone the city-state should not be worried about losing the event beyond that.

"It will stay," F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone, the authority on the content of the sport's annual calendar, said in an interview with the Singapore newspaper Today.

It is believed the initial contract with Singapore, having last year hosted F1's first ever night race, contains an option for an additional two years beyond 2012.

"We are not going to lose Singapore, that's for sure," the 78-year-old added. "As long as Singapore is there, we will be there."

The event is known for being one of the highest-paying on the calendar, but Briton Ecclestone believes F1 is value for money for Singapore.

"I honestly think formula one has done a lot for Singapore. People know more about Singapore than they don't know about Singapore.

"As I always said it used to be for me a stopover on the way somewhere," Ecclestone said of the Asian republic. "It never seemed like a destination.

"And when you go to Singapore and have a good look, you realize it is a destination, that it is a nice place with nice people," he added.