Formula 1 News: Domenicali pragmatic about Imola’s F1 axe

(GMM) Stefano Domenicali (pictured) says he accepts the loss of Imola from Formula 1’s calendar, even though the historic Italian circuit is his birthplace.

The F1 CEO told Gianluca Gazzoli’s The BSMT podcast that history alone no longer guarantees a place on the bustling schedule. “If a grand prix has this historical value, it’s an extra, an added value – but it’s not enough,” he said.

According to Domenicali, today’s increasingly younger fans often care little about past results or traditions. “For many young people who follow F1 today, going to race in Monte Carlo instead of the new Las Vegas circuit makes no difference to them,” he explained.

Instead, he argues that venues must invest in infrastructure and fan facilities to justify their place. “History is an asset, but it can be a limit if the conditions for development are not in place,” the Italian said, pointing to rising expectations as ticket prices climb.

However, he did not entirely rule out a comeback for Imola, suggesting F1’s growing use of rotation slots could offer an opening. “If Imola can put together a structured proposal, why not?” he added.

But Domenicali admitted that staging two grands prix in Italy is increasingly hard to justify, with Imola’s limited size and hotel capacity making future development difficult.

“As global attention to F1 grows, having two grands prix in the same country requires elements that can justify it,” he said.

“Imola is in a city, it lives in a fairly narrow context, it’s difficult to think about development also at the level of structures and hotels because it is what it is. And now we’re talking about very different levels of investment than before.”

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