Lips are sealed, and no one wants to talk. The feeling in the first days of the Monza weekend was that F1 might grant Italy only one GP on the calendar, while discussions between the promoter of the sport, Stefano Domenicali, and ACI Italy would have opened a door to extend the life of the two races until 2030.
What the opportunity might have allowed for a glimmer of hope, and, more importantly, how long this window remains open for a suggestion, or little more, to transform into a contract to sign, we naturally cannot know. However, we saw smiling faces emerge from the F1 Hospitality, a sign that a positive atmosphere has been established at Monza, even though the two circuits will need substantial work to upgrade their historic facilities to meet the demanding standards of the modern GP world to satisfy an ever-discerning audience.
For the 2023 edition of the Italian GP, 304,000 spectators were announced. Considering that the seating capacity is at most 120,000 per day, it can be said that the response from fans was more than adequate, especially with a Ferrari that appeared to be not very competitive until Zandvoort. Those who chose to attend the circuit to experience the emotions and thrills firsthand made the right decision, as these sensations cannot be fully experienced by watching qualifying and the race on television.
All of this is to say that there is an opportunity to keep two GPs alive until 2030, with a significant revision of the fee to be paid to the promoter. It is not what “rogue” states can put on the table to use F1 as a marketing tool to promote a democratic climate even in dictatorial areas, but it is an amount, reportedly $30 million per event, that will not be easy to come up with.
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A spark has ignited to save two GPs, and the presence of Giorgia Meloni, the Prime Minister, in the paddock on Sunday, along with her deputy, Matteo Salvini, on the podium, shows that the Government is becoming involved in the problem, aware that the investment will be very costly and cannot be covered solely by ticket sales.
ACI Italy’s staff, led by Angelo Sticchi Damiani, must present a plan to F1 and the Government to discover how Italy can leverage the global GP platform with two events to promote and enhance our country abroad. The opportunity is very tempting but comes at a high cost. The return could be substantial if a coalition with very different sensitivities can be formed. Allocating a budget to supplement what ticket sales cannot guarantee could be achieved with public funds only in exchange for promoting the country, which could involve tourist attraction and the internationally appreciated “Made in Italy” in every corner of the world.
Currently, Giorgia Meloni has not made a statement, but her preference for motorsports at Monza over the invitation to Cernobbio indicates her interest. This interest is shared in a tweet highlighting the “great Italian excellence that continues to provide unique emotions and breathtaking challenges to our nation and the whole world.”
If ACI Italy’s ambition exceeds its capabilities, it will resort to a single race on the calendar from 2026 when the new F1 regulations begin, canceling the idea of alternating between Monza and Imola.
Experiments conducted in Germany with Hockenheim and Nurburgring were disastrous, so eventually, Imola would succumb to Monza’s advantage, a facility integrated into the park that has suffered severe damage from summer hurricanes with thousands of fallen trees. The racetrack could help the park and vice versa in a collaboration that could become virtuous after years of fierce conflicts not only at the political and environmental levels.
The Mayor of Imola, Marco Panieri, and the Tourism Councillor of the Emilia Romagna Region, Andrea Corsini, were seen on a mission in the paddock. The goal was to collect Stefano Domenicali‘s promise to recover the Emilia Romagna GP in 2026, which was canceled due to flooding. However, there is a much larger opportunity on the table.
For once, if we can behave like a modern country that thinks about Italy’s well-being rather than political divisions, we could play an unimaginable game in a few days, considering that if Liberty Media wanted, they could create an F1 calendar with thirty events, given the increasing demand worldwide following the surge in popularity that the premier motorsport series has experienced since 2021. The game is on…
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