Korea asked Bernie Ecclestone and FOM a few months back for relief from the reported US$25M yearly licensing fee. Now Valencia GP promoters have done the same thing. These impossible financial conditions, which can only be afforded by state-funded entities, are a very sad development in F1 in our judgment. Future of Valencia Grand Prix In Doubt | BBC Sport.
Even worse is that the European sovereign debt crisis is making such government support essentially unsustainable.
In these financially strained times for Eurozone countries, Andrew Mas-Colell, economic minister for the Catalunya region, told the media: “We may reconsider holding Formula 1 and motorcycling grand prix here. It is not clear whether we can do so in the current climate.”