Next month’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix looks increasingly likely to be the last Formula 1 race at the Imola circuit following recent comments by the series’ CEO Stefano Domenicali.
He pointed out F1 is unlikely to be able to sustain two races per season in his native Italy in future seasons.
“Italy has always been and will be an important part of Formula 1,” Domenicali told Italian radio channel RAI.
“It will be increasingly difficult to have two races in the same country because interest in F1 is growing and it’s a situation we will have to deal with in the coming months,” added Domenicali, who was born in Imola. “It’s hard for this situation with Imola and Monza to continue together on the calendar for long.”
His words appear to spell the end for F1 racing at Imola. Formula One Management signed a new deal with Monza last year which will keep it on the calendar until at least 2031. Next month’s race at Imola is the last of its current contract.
The addition of a new race in Madrid on the 2026 F1 calendar means F1 will not return to one of this year’s venues unless it expands beyond its current limit of 24 rounds. The Mexican and Las Vegas rounds are also due for renewal this year.
Imola held its first world championship event in 1980 when it took over the running of the Italian Grand Prix for one year. It returned the following season in a springtime calendar slot as the host of an event named after the tiny republic of San Marino, situated 100 kilometres to the south-east of the city.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
It remained on the calendar from then until 2006, providing Ferrari’s huge number of Italian fans two opportunities per year to see their cars in action. It returned to the schedule in 2020 as F1 sought additional races in Europe during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Imola’s new race, now known as the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, has remained on the calendar since then. However the 2023 edition did not take place due to severe flooding in the area.
Other European rounds of the world championship are also feeling the effect of the pressure for places on the calendar. Zandvoort in the Netherlands will host its final grand prix next year and Spa-Francorchamps will only hold races in odd-numbered years after 2026.
Formula 1
Browse all Formula 1 articles
Leave a Reply