Officials of the Chinese grand prix are unsure if they will seek to renew Shanghai's contract to host formula one races beyond 2010.

The metropolis built the bespoke Shanghai International Circuit at a cost of $365 million for its first race in 2004, but ticket sales have been poor.

Qiu Weichang, deputy director of the Shanghai Administration of Sports, suggested a decision about the loss-making event will be taken next year.

"We're doing the assessment. By next year we should be able to give you an answer," he told the AFP news agency.

He did not seem keen to embrace Bernie Ecclestone's push for more night races in Asia.

While admitting that Singapore's inaugural floodlit event in September was interesting, Qui insisted that "we will decide based on our own situation what we're going to do to attract fans".

Source: GMM