Friday October 25th, 2002

Next year's Belgian Grand Prix is set to be scrubbed off the Formula One calendar, team sources said today.

The sources told Reuters that team bosses had decided at a meeting on Thursday not to go to Spa next year due to restrictions on tobacco advertising in Belgium. The team chiefs were holding further discussions with International Automobile Federation (FIA) officials before a meeting of the Formula One Commission on Monday.

The decision on Spa, which would reduce the Championship from 17 to 16 races, must be approved formally at Monday's meeting in the presence of FIA president Max Mosley and the sport's supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

An FIA spokesman could not confirm any decision on Spa and said it would be up to the Formula One Commission to decide, while an official at the circuit told Reuters: "There's been no official decision, therefore we can't comment."

Spa was included provisionally on the 2003 calendar dependent the lack of unanimous agreement by the teams.

The race was left open due to a Belgian government decision to introduce a law against tobacco advertising in August next year before the Grand Prix. Spa is one of Formula One's great tracks, ranking as World Champion Michael Schumacher's favourite circuit.

The Formula One authorities have already announced that two new races, China and Bahrain, will be added to the calendar in 2004 and some European Grands Prix will have to be cut.

Published at 13:50:07 GMT