Now it looks like it’s official: as the Washington Post reports, Formula One will not be coming to New Jersey until 2014. In a statement released Friday, Ecclestone said, “The event is not going to happen. Everything is set up, but now it’s too late to finish on time.”
Providing a bit more cryptic detail, Ecclestone continued, “The reason is because they didn’t quite know what they were doing. They got all the permission together... but then they missed the boat a little on some financing that was coming in.”
That sounds to us like the race failed to meet payment deadlines established by Ecclestone, although another comment from Bernie seems to indicate that weather-related construction delays are to blame.
“Everything is set up, “ Ecclestone said, “but now its too late to finish on time.” Given the predictions for a particularly harsh winter in the Northeast, his assumption could be accurate.
For now, anyway, that drops the 2013 F1 schedule from a planned 20 races to 19, giving teams a three-week break between races in Canada and Britain.