The 2024 F1 World Championship schedule is set with two trips to Italy for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza and the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola. With 105 grands prix and counting, Italy has hosted the most Formula One races in the history of the sport.
However, the future of the Italian Grand Prix might be in question, especially if Monza doesn't follow through with updates needed to the course.
Stefano Domenicali, the CEO of Formula One, has already threatened that Monza could lose its race date, and the historic racetrack's typical September date has not been confirmed beyond the 2025 season.
Even if the track follows through with the necessary updates, negotiations between F1 and Autodromo Nazionale di Monza are at a stalemate, according to Toby McLuskie from gpblog.com.
Domenicali has accused Monza organizers of delaying their announced plans for both renovations and modifications to the track and the area around the racecourse.
"We are negotiating, but we need concrete things to continue the talks. Because if certain things don't happen, then we can't talk. I often hear it from their director Sticchi Damiani and so I know they are well aware of this. But we are already in December and the works that were supposed to start in Monza immediately after the GP have not started yet. They will hopefully start soon," Domenicali said.
Monza isn't the only track in Italy that currently hosts F1, as the series also hosts the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola. Returning to the F1 schedule in 2020 in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, Imola had been off-limits to Formula 1 since 2006 when it was dropped for fears of being "too dangerous." It has been part of the F1 schedule ever since, though the 2023 running was ultimately canceled after major rainstorms caused flooding in the area. It could likely replace Monza as home of the Italian Grand Prix if Monza's organizers do not follow through with the promised updates.
While Imola remains an alternative home for the Italian Grand Prix, Monza is the symbolic heart of Italian motor racing. Built in 1922, the track's association with F1 and Grand Prix racing is long and storied with corners such as the Parabolica and the Lesmos famous throughout the world. It would be a travesty if Monza was dropped from the schedule and fans — Tifosi and otherwise — would mourn the loss. While Domenicali is applying pressure on the national Italian automobile association to complete the promised work on the circuit long before the sport will have to drop it. The ball is clearly in Monza's court and F1 holds the upper hand knowing that there are plenty of places that would pay good money to host a race.
