F1
"Losing this kind of circuit would be a shame": Verstappen wants Imola to stay on the calendar
© DPPI
This Sunday, May 18, Max Verstappen won for the fourth consecutive year at Imola. This new victory for the Dutchman on the Italian circuit could well be the last for a long time. And for good reason: 2025 is the final year of the contract between the track and the Formula 1. Above all, the chances that it will not be renewed are very high.
This is therefore an F1 monument that is in danger, while Zandvoort will leave the calendar in 2026 and Spa-Francorchamps will be rotated over the next six seasons. A few weeks ago, Stefano Domenicali, boss of the championship, unfortunately confirmed this trend in the Journal of Sport.
"Italy has always represented and will represent in the future an important part of F1. It will be increasingly difficult to have two Grands Prix in the same country because interest in F1 is growing. And this is a situation we will have to face in the coming months. It will be complicated if this situation – with Imola and Monza together on the calendar – continues for much longer.", he admitted.
Verstappen campaigns to keep Imola on the calendar
The drivers don't see it that way. Starting with the reigning four-time world champion. Asked this Sunday, after his victory at Imola, what he thought of this situation, Max Verstappen, who “really enjoy driving here”, simply admitted that it would be a shame to "losing this kind of circuit".
He pursues : "I understand it from an F1 perspective, obviously, with the new circuits we're arriving at. You have to look at it from a sporting and financial perspective. If you want to grow the business and make it more popular, I understand that."
But for the pilot Red Bull, there are other parameters to take into account: “Personally, if I just talk about the pleasure of driving, it's precisely these types of circuits that made me fall in love with racing. Some tracks are more special than others. You look at the speeds, the difficulties in controlling them. The history of the sport on certain circuits.”
The Dutchman finally insists: "It's all very special and gives you more emotions. So yes, it's really a shame."
ALSO READ > Imola, the next monument to disappear from the Formula 1 calendar?
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Lucas Paul
20/05/2025 at 12:18 a.m.
And let's not forget Francorchamps, the drivers' favorite..... Indeed, F1 is becoming a "thing" to suck up money, the US in charge don't give a damn about the sport :(:(:(:(
Yves-Henri RANDIER
20/05/2025 at 12:07 a.m.
Beyond the disappearance of Imola and a real circuit from the calendar, if Miami and Vegas could disappear in favor of Laguna Seca and Watkins Glen, the drivers certainly wouldn't complain. On the other hand, all the pseudo VIPs present who don't care about F1 would certainly no longer travel to please Liberty Media and Netflixers because they are circuits lost in the middle of nowhere! I also have the impression that the VIPs weren't jostling in the Imola paddock, certainly a precursor to the disappearance of the circuit in the future
Charles
20/05/2025 at 07:34 a.m.
Gentlemen drivers, they only take action like the commentary strike at the end of GPs where you have to endure the same questions 20 times, speak well in your enclosure and especially accompanied by your employer's marketing. The greats of the 60s, 70s, 80s and even 90s would never have accepted being treated like this. And if you look hard enough, you have other ways to force the US promoter to bend.
Alain Féguenne (Luxembourg)
20/05/2025 at 12:04 a.m.
I mola must remain on the calendar, but it must invest in new boxes... more modern. But it's a real circuit, and for the drivers... To be seen...!!! 🤨👀🧐👍
vincent moyet
19/05/2025 at 11:46 a.m.
Unfortunately, it's unlikely that Italy will keep two GPs when Germany and France already have none. If it's going to race on "real" circuits, F1 should set up camp in the United States, at Elkhart Lake or Laguna Seca! But there aren't enough luxury hotels nearby... The priorities of F1's management are clearly not sporting.
Yves-Henri RANDIER
19/05/2025 at 09:47 a.m.
The Dutchman is right, but the F1 business now places more importance on dollars and entertainment, while distancing itself from the historical foundations of F1. And many countries, more or less autocratic and adept at sportswashing, are prepared to pay much more than Imola, Zandvoort, Paul Ricard, Hockenheim, and so on... to be on the calendar!