US Grand Prix "subject to agreement" on 2016 calendar

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) The future of the struggling U.S. Grand Prix was thrown into further doubt Wednesday when the 2016 Formula One calendar listed the race as ''subject to agreement'' with the promoter.

Officials at the Circuit of the Americas have said they are financially strapped after storms wiped out much of the 2015 race weekend and by news the Texas governor's office is cutting public funding by about 20 percent.

The 2016 race calendar released by the FIA's World Motor Sport Council still has the race scheduled for Oct. 23 but with an asterisk.

''The USA's slot remains provisional,'' the FIA said.

Track officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Other items of note from the FIA:

- FIA President Jean Todt and Formula One commercial chief Bernie Ecclestone were given a ''mandate to make recommendations and decisions regarding a number of pressing issues.'' Formula One has grappled with complaints over the sport's governance, engines, and rising costs of racing. The FIA statement said Todt and Ecclestone plan to present ''conclusions'' by Jan. 31.

- If the U.S. Grand Prix is held, the 2016 calendar will have a record 21 races, including a return to Germany at Hockenheim and the addition of the European Grand Prix in Azerbaijan. The previous high was 20 races in 2012.

The U.S. Grand Prix has been considered a major opportunity for Formula One to surge into a largely untapped market.

The $300 million track was built to host the race, which has run in Austin since 2012. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has won three times, including this year to clinch this third Formula One championship.

The private investors who built the track, including hedge fund manager Bobby Epstein and billionaire businessman Red McCombs, said they were promised significant help from the state to pay for the commercial rights to hold the race over a 10-year deal. Under an agreement reached with former Gov. Rick Perry and former Comptroller Susan Combs, Texas gave $25 million from the state's Major Events Trust fund in the first year.

Promoters said they were counting on that money every year. But a 2010 letter from Perry and Combs to Ecclestone notes the state portion could be less than $25 million for the rest of the contract. The letter says that if tax revenues fall short, promoters must make up the difference.

But tickets sales have dipped every year since its debut, and Mexican fans who came to the U.S. race by the thousands the first three years now have a race in their home country.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's office told track officials they will get about $19.5 million from the state for the next race because the formula used to award grants were changed to make them more restrictive.

Combined with local tax revenue, race officials will still get about $23 million in public funds. An Abbott spokeswoman said the numbers were not expected to change, but declined comment on the future of the race.

Austin Mayor Steve Adler has called the race an important event for the Texas capital. But he also has told track officials they can't look to the city for a ''bailout.''

''There is no change in my position, and promoters have not asked us for financial help,'' Adler said.

Track officials have said the event has pumped ''hundreds of millions'' of dollars into the Austin and Texas economies since 2012 and applied for state funding under the same formula as Super Bowls, NCAA basketball tournaments and other events.

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F1 schedule: https://www.formula1.com/content/fom-website/en/latest/headlines/2015/12/f1-2016-calendar-confirmed.html