The bleak future of the Imola Grand Prix
Formula 1 Director Stefano Domenicali has spoken out about the future of the Italian Grand Prix. One of them may well disappear.
Stefano Domenicali seems to be laying the groundwork for a potential bad news for Italians (and most F1 fans). Interviewed on Italian radio, the head of the premier category of motorsport warned about the uncertain future of the Imola and Monza Grand Prix.
On the F1 calendar since 1981, the Imola circuit long held an unshakeable position. However, in 2006, it was criticized for its outdated facilities, leading to 15 years without hosting F1. Reintegrated into the calendar in 2020, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix and its 4.909 km circuit was confirmed in 2022 until 2025.
« I do not forget that Imola stepped up in a moment of great difficulty, » emphasizes Domenicali. « When it was necessary to find new venues, they immediately responded with great enthusiasm and the capability of an entire city. » However, the situation is evolving and interest in Formula 1 is only growing. « From a human perspective, it will not be easy, but I must fulfill an international role that presents me with many requests worldwide from emerging countries that can allow F1 to grow. »
Imola has a much less striking image than the other Italian round, Monza, despite grand moments like the duels between Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso in 2005 and 2006, as well as the darkest weekend in the sport’s history with the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger on the same weekend in 1994. Monza, for its part, has been on the calendar every year since 1950, except for an absence in 1980, and is under contract with F1 until 2031.
« It will be difficult for the current situation to last long »
« It will be more and more difficult to have two races in the same country because the interest in Formula 1 is increasing, and it’s a situation we will have to face in the coming months, » assures the native of Imola before insisting on the fact that it will be « difficult for the current situation to last long, with Imola and Monza together on the calendar. »
However, if we take the time to review the calendar, three races take place in the United States (in Las Vegas, Miami, and Austin). At the same time, the future of several European races is being questioned, as is the case with the Belgian Grand Prix. New races, on the other hand, could emerge in various parts of the world.
