Chase Carey, the new Formula One CEO and chairman, has said that the negotiation with Singapore Grand Prix organizers to keep the night-race on 2018 calendar, would take a positive turn. On 13 September, Carey confirmed that although nothing has been confirmed yet, the Formula one official is discussing the extension of the contract with their Singapore partners.
"We are actively engaged with our partners (in Singapore), our goal is to reach a new deal. We have a great relationship with our partners, a deal has not been concluded but discussions are still ongoing," the chairman said as quoted by Channel New Asia.
"We're having positive discussions and it's certainly our goal to iron out a deal that works for both of us," Carey said.
The ongoing talk about the cancellation of hosting the Formula One race at Singapore arose last year when the former Chairman Bernie Ecclestone said that they were thinking about to stop the race after 2017. Although the new Chairman Carey did not reveal their contract extension plans to media during a conference at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, Singapore, he definitely has no intention to exclude the night race out of the schedule list.
"The contract discussions are best held in private. In business, it is best if those details are held in private and only when we've reached the end point do we describe how we got there," Carey said at the conference.
While Singapore GP has its own glamour and priority, Carey mentioned about the importance of hosting the Formula One race in the south-east Asian country and he put all his efforts to ensure that the race will be still on the calendar after this season.
"Singapore's a very important race for us, in many ways it's a gateway for us to Asia. There is a lot of what is in the race here (which is) a reflection of what we want (F1) to be around the world. We have the week-long events with the race as the center, plus we talk about having destination races and Singapore is that as well," the Chairman said.
However, 2017 Singapore Grand Prix will take place on 17 September, Sunday.
