Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has admitted he would “hate” to lose the Australian Grand Prix.

Ecclestone’s comments represent something of a u-turn as earlier this year he suggested Formula One “didn’t need” Australia given the array of countries vying for a place on the calendar.

That followed remarks from Melbourne mayor Robert Doyle who said the race should be ditched when its contract expires in 2015 due to the city’s rising costs of hosting the event.

But with the opening race of the new season at Melbourne’s Albert Park just 10 days away, Ecclestone maintains it has become “just as important to us as Monaco”.

Speaking to the Herald Sun newspaper, Ecclestone added: “It’s part of the world championship and has been for an awful long time.

“We’d hate to think we were going to lose Australia.”

Ecclestone concedes, though, that for financial reasons, he will not stand in Melbourne’s way if they decide to relinquish a race they have hosted since 1996 after it switched from Adelaide.

“We have been together a long time,” said Ecclestone.

“It’s like one of those long marriages, it would be bad to end in divorce, but if the other partner wishes, we wouldn’t start fighting. In the case of Melbourne, if the product is too expensive for them we understand that and when the contract comes to an end there’s no need to renew it.

“We wouldn’t force somebody to buy something they don’t want or think is too expensive.

“We get massive worldwide television coverage, but if that’s not important well, okay, don’t buy the product.”