The Imola circuit, which has been named after Enzo and Dino Ferrari since 1988, is preparing to host the World Championship for the 31st time – the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix will be held there from May 17 to 19.
Last year this race did not take place due to floods that affected the regions of northern Italy, but now nothing should hinder the Formula 1 tour, and Imola prepared for it especially carefully.
A press conference about the upcoming event was held there the day before. Imola Mayor Marco Panieri said: “After last year, which was very difficult for our region, we are once again organizing this historic Grand Prix, which shows our strength. The city is completely ready and in anticipation of this event we have invested seriously and organized many different initiatives. This is an opportunity to continue to pay tribute to the memory of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna, two great drivers…”
The Imola circuit’s contract with Liberty Media to organize the World Championship expires next year, and Angelo Sticchi Damiani, president of the national car club ACI, stressed that negotiations are already underway to extend these agreements.
“Of course this is already being discussed with Formula 1, although it is clear that the situation is difficult,” he said. “But there is hope and we will continue to work so that the race can take place in 2026.” This would be the next small step forward, but everything will depend on what happens in Europe over the next two to three years.
The championship calendar is changing, there are a number of new candidate countries, meaning some circuits where races take place are now in danger. And this is especially true for European routes. But we must resist. Stefano Domenicali did and is doing an excellent job, we must be grateful to him because it was not easy for us to keep Imola’s place in the championship after the pandemic, but what we succeeded then will remain in history: the circuit has already hosted three Grand Prix, and everyone recognizes this. The National Automobile Club of Italy will do everything in its power.”
Stefano Bonaccini, president of the Emilia-Romagna region, also expressed his confidence that the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari will continue to host a Formula 1 race in the future: “When we started talking about the return of the Imola stage to the championship calendar, we were told this was impossible. When we wanted the first stages of the Tour de France to pass through our territory, we were told that it was not even worth trying because it was impossible (on June 30, 2024 the second stage of the cycling race through Imola). ). Rest assured: the Formula 1 Grand Prix is here to stay.”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
