The sport's commercial boss is eager for the United States to get a second race alongside its existing event at Austin, with previous efforts to hold an event in New York having fallen through.

He has been in talks with potential promoters of a race in Las Vegas, but revealed in Russia that one of the hurdles being faced is the location of the event.

When asked for the latest news, Ecclestone said: "We are struggling a little bit, yeah.

"I want to make sure we are on The Strip, so when people turn their television on, they immediately know it is Vegas."

Ecclestone has suggested, however, that if Las Vegas does not come off, then other locations in the States were in contention.

"We missed out a little bit of New York, but lots of places are talking about it," he said.

No Monza deal

Ecclestone also said that there had been no progress on finalising a deal for the Italian Grand Prix to remain at Monza beyond this year.

"This year we will have a race for sure," he said. "[For next year], I don't know."

Pushed on if Imola was a contender to secure the Italian slot, he said: "We've been trying to do something, but they are Italian. So we will probably know on the Thursday before..."