Will Liberty pursue a Chicago GP

Ecclestone claims Chicago was interested, and has a California race ready to go

Amidst talk of Miami hosting a round of the world championship as early as next year, 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," he added.

Speaking earlier this week, 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 calendar, 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, 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 says. Pitpass