Barcelona denies 2020 Spanish GP deal done

Barcelona has denied reports that it has rescued the embattled Spanish GP for 2020.

It was believed that Hockenheim and Barcelona would be axed in order to make room for new races in Vietnam and Zandvoort next year.

But the Catalan newspaper Diari Ara claims that the Generalitat de Catalunya - the regional government - has now come to the rescue so that Barcelona can pay the EUR 21 million fee for a one-year race deal for 2020.

The circuit denied it.

"No agreement has been reached yet," a spokesperson for Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya told us.

"The negotiations continue, and are still open. As soon as an agreement has been reached, whether for a renewal or a non-renewal, it will be made known officially through the usual channels."

It is believed that a 2020 deal with Barcelona could mean that Liberty Media needs all ten teams to agree to attend an extra race next year.

Earlier, F1 CEO Chase Carey said the calendar would not expand beyond its current 21 races.

"I don't think there should be 21 races," Williams boss Claire Williams said at Hockenheim. "Personally, I think there should be five fewer races."

(GMM)