Fresh doubts cast over future of F1 in Imola

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has cast fresh doubt about the future of Imola on the calendar beyond this year.

Italy is the only country on the current schedule to hold two races, with Imola staging the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Mat and Monza serving as the host for the Italian Grand Prix in September.

But while Monza has a long-term deal with F1 that safeguards the race until 2031, Imola’s current contract with Liberty Media expires at the end of this year.

There have already been question marks over whether Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari will become a long-term fixture in F1, with the circuit’s return on the calendar having only been made possible by the COVID-19 pandemic at the beginning of 2020.

But Domenicali has now added to the uncertainty about the event, saying it’s hard for him to justify holding two grand prix in one country when there is increasing demand from other nations to bring F1 to their shores.

“In the coming months, we will face this choice [about keeping Imola]. From a human point of view, it will not be easy, but I have to exercise an international role that puts me in front of so many requests around the world from emerging countries that can allow F1 to grow,” Domenicali, who hails from Imola, told Radio Rai Gr Parlamento.

“It is an evaluation that I will soon have to make as a definitive choice.

“Italy has always represented and will represent in the future an important part of Formula 1.

“It will be increasingly difficult to have two races in the same country because interest in Formula 1 is growing and it is a situation that we will have to face in the coming months. It is difficult for it to continue for a long time.

“I do not forget that Imola responded at a time of great difficulty, that of Covid.

“When there was a need to find new places, they responded immediately with the enthusiasm and ability of an entire city.”

Ironically, F1 will host two races in Spain next year, as Madrid prepares for its maiden grand prix at a new street venue built around the IFEMA exhibition centre.

But this twin race arrangement in Spain could end up being a one-off, as Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya’s contract with F1 expires after 2026.