Formula One racing will return to Montreal after a year's hiatus, according to series boss Bernie Ecclestone, but the city's mayor says a deal has yet to be confirmed. (Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images)

Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay said Tuesday that there's no deal in place yet to bring Formula One back to the city, despite F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone's comments to the contrary earlier in the day.

The head of Formula One said that an agreement in principle has been reached to have F1 return to Montreal in 2010.

"We have an in-principle agreement of how we're going to make the race happen," Ecclestone told CBC Radio.

But later Tuesday, Tremblay told RDS that negotiations are still continuing and that Ecclestone hasn't changed his previous offer. It was the major sticking point when the race was dropped for 2009.

"We've got the very funny, old-fashioned idea that when we go somewhere we'd like to be paid," Ecclestone said.

The F1 group wanted $175 million to keep the race in Montreal for five years, but the city government said that was too much. According to Tremblay, F1 hasn't changed the offer, meaning the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix isn't a sure thing yet.

Ecclestone first announced the deal in principle to Swiss magazine Motorsport Aktuell.

He said the potential deal would keep F1 in Montreal for at least the next seven years, adding that a formal agreement has to be reached in the next few weeks in order to make the deadline for the 2010 calendar.

This season marked the first time in 22 years that no F1 race was held in the city. Ecclestone said he never wanted to leave Montreal in the first place.

"Everyone in Formula One loves the Canadian Grand Prix," Ecclestone said in the magazine interview.

Ecclestone also ruled out a return to Indianapolis, which was dropped in 2007, and said he would like to add races in South Korea and India.

With files from The Canadian Press