Ecclestone confirms November switch for Austin

Bernie Ecclestone has admitted that next year’s inaugural US grand prix will not be held in June as originally scheduled.

Ostensibly, the move to November is to avoid the hot Texas summer, but cynics have also suggested it will give race organisers more time to build the bespoke circuit in Austin.

But an unintended side-effect of the move is a clause in Texas legislation that means state funding for the event can only be released one year in advance of the event.

That could mean real construction cannot begin until much later this year.

"While we have heard rumours on the date change ... we really aren’t going to speculate on the course of action for each possible situation," a spokesman for the comptroller said last week.

According to F1 chief executive Ecclestone, however, the new calendar doing the rounds in the Hungary paddock recently was real.

"Before that there was a draft," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "They (the FIA) were the ones who published it as if it was the final one.

"We have for example moved Austin to November because it’s 40 degrees in the summer (there). We don’t want to have the experience of Dallas again."

The Briton was referring to the 1984 event when drivers tackled searing heat and a crumbling track surface.