US Grand Prix In Austin Is Back On

The 2012 US Grand Prix is included in the 2012 Formula 1 calendar. No, the track has not been built.After weeks of uncertainty, the Circuits of the Americas (COTA) announced the resumption of track construction following the inclusion of the Austin US Grand Prix race on the 2012 Formula 1 calendar.The calendar was approved at the FIA congress, held this week in New Delhi, India.The race was in doubt for the last few weeks after the promoters failed to pay the $25m sanctioning fee to the FOM.Last week, Bernie Ecclestone, the FOM's CEO, extended the deadline for the payment to Dec. 7th. "Mr. Ecclestone received his check" said founding partner of the COTA, Red McCombs."Our investors have believed all along that this project has tremendous benefit for our region, and provides a strong economic engine for the future," said Epstein, another founding partner of Circuit of the Americas. It is still not fully known how the negotiations between Full Throttle Productions, owned by Tavo Hellmund, and COTA have been concluded but it is assumed that Hellmund's company is not involved in the event anymore.The circuit owners are entering a new race against time to complete the construction in time for the race that is set to take place in November 2012. The FIA will inspect the circuit and its facilities a few weeks before the race.But as with everything political in Formula 1 and Bernie Ecclestone, this is not the last time you read a piece of news on the race before next November, as the saga of the 2012 American Grand Prix is far from over.