Formula 1 has confirmed it will continue racing at Monza until at least 2031.
The venue which hosts the Italian Grand Prix has signed a new deal keeping it on the calendar beyond next year.“Monza is at the very heart of Formula 1 history and the atmosphere each year is unique as the Tifosi gather in huge numbers to cheer on Ferrari and the drivers,” said F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali. “The recent upgrades to the circuit’s infrastructure and the planned investment show a strong commitment to the long-term future of Formula 1 in Italy.”
Monza held F1 races before the world championship began in 1950 and was part of the inaugural championship season. It has held a round every year except for 1980, when Imola held the Italian Grand Prix.
The race organisers have invested in renovating the venue’s facilities in recent years. Angelo Sticchi Damiani, the resident of the Automobile Club d’Italia, said more work is planned.
“As we all know, Monza is the oldest racetrack in the world to host a race of the world championship, and it is also the longest-running event on the world championship calendar,” he said. “We are all aware that history is no longer enough.
“Following the resurfacing of the track and underpasses to improve the safety on track and for the fans, we are now faced with a new challenge in 2025: improving the quality and quantity of hospitality offerings. With this goal in mind, we are already working to keep ahead of the standards required by modern Formula 1.”
The future of F1’s other race in Italy, the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix held at Imola, is yet to be confirmed. The promoter has a deal for the race to take place next year. The 2023 event was cancelled due to severe flooding.
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Jere (@jerejj)
27th November 2024, 18:17
Italian GP continuing wouldn’t necessarily have to mean Monza specifically, as Imola would also use the title if they started alternating.
However, as this won’t happen, after all, Imola’s long-term continuation in F1 is questionable.
Some European circuits will definitely have to make way for more lucrative non-European options within this decade by alternating & or getting entirely dropped.
Jere (@jerejj)
27th November 2024, 18:18
I could’ve added that I personally wouldn’t mind losing Imola altogether, even though the circuit is decently flowing.
SPArtacus
27th November 2024, 18:52
Yup. Great circuit for driving, but utterly awful as a spectator for anything other than quali.
Jere (@jerejj)
27th November 2024, 20:04
Indeed, although the same is equally true for quite a few other permanent circuits.
SPArtacus
27th November 2024, 20:33
Tracks with 1 or less solid passing sections:
1. Australia
2. Imola
3. Miami
4. Monaco
5. Spain
6. Hungary
7. Zandvoort
8. Singapore
9. Mexico City GP
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
27th November 2024, 20:42
Out of these I’m gonna say: monaco is the worst for overtaking, would call it “almost impossible”, then singapore “very difficult”, hungary\imola “pretty difficult”, then australia\zandvoort “fairly difficult”, I wouldn’t consider the others difficult tracks to overtake at, so the 1 passing section does the job there.
SPArtacus
27th November 2024, 22:29
Zandvoort produces great races in the rain and you can pass. So, that’s the worst pick on the list.
Australia varies year to year. Sometimes you get a decent amount of passing and sometimes you get absolutely nothing.
Miami: Passing is possible, but who cares. The track sucks either way.
Mexico: It’s decent since T1 sets up all the passing opportunities whether you’re passing there or T4.
Singapore & Hungary: I like those tracks regardless.
So, really only Imola, Monaco and Spain are absolutely useless as racetracks in terms of passing.
Jere (@jerejj)
28th November 2024, 5:46
SPArtacus Albert Park isn’t necessarily one of those anymore since the 2022 alterations.
@esploratore1 Monaco & Singapore are indeed the worst two for overtaking, followed by Hungaroring, Zandvoort, & Imola in any order.
These are probably the five worst among all current circuits, at least on paper, but precise judgment is difficult for some, with Montmelo not being far either.
SPArtacus
27th November 2024, 18:50
Good. One of our real tracks safe for a while longer. It’d be very hard to justify not having Monza on the calendar though. It’d be like dropping Silverstone without at least going to Brands Hatch. Although the new Monza curbs are super lame. All part of the new Mickey Mouse F1. Soon, they’ll be demanding fully enclosed bubble canopies and Tecpro surrounding 100% of all tracks.
tielemst
28th November 2024, 11:15
We might consider racing on rails next. You know, safety first and all that.
SPArtacus
28th November 2024, 12:40
I think F1 will emulate bowling alley bumper lanes first along the entire edge of the track. But then someone might suffer a whiplash if a wheel ever digs in and catches just right. Then we’ll go to rails.
MichaelN
27th November 2024, 18:57
As much as I, being partial to Ferrari, enjoy the atmosphere of a Monza GP the track itself hasn’t been all that interesting for a long, long time. With the focus on getting to top speed as fast as possible that we’ll see from 2026 onwards, even the once magical speeds reached at Monza will become even more common than they already are.
But F1 needs a race in Italy, and Monza is probably the best place to do it. Although Mugello was pretty good all things considered. Imola though, not so much. It’s just not a good fit for these big cars.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
27th November 2024, 20:36
I disagree, imo we need all types of track: monza is good to have for the heavy focus on straights, monaco is good to have for the incredible overtaking difficulty and slow speed, imola is good to have for the difficult, while still possible, overtakes.
I also liked mugello though, in that one-off we had because of covid, it made for a good race.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
27th November 2024, 20:37
Monaco is also good for the strategic implications (when there’s not a red flag immediately), and importance of qualifying.
AlexS
30th November 2024, 3:39
Like Esploratore says, F1 culture is made by different characteristic circuits and car different designs.
We should get even more different ones, with banking etc.
The biggest criticism of Tilke i have is that he prepared a dish with all flavours so the circuits were pretty much without identity and a car that dominated in one would probably dominated in the others.
So when USA GP Texas circuit appeared i had sight of relief, it showed that was still possible to build a classic circuits.
We need more Monzas. Hockenheim for example.
fawkes
27th November 2024, 19:36
Monza as all other classic and original F1 tracks should be granted a kind of permanent contract, period.
Jere (@jerejj)
27th November 2024, 20:05
Unfortunately, most classic circuits aren’t lucrative or even semi-lucrative ones.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
27th November 2024, 20:34
True, it’s all about money in the current formula.
SPArtacus
28th November 2024, 12:41
It always was. These classic tracks just used to make money or had a sponsor whether private or public that thought it was worth it.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
27th November 2024, 20:34
Temple of speed, good to have, if it were up to me, hockenheim would still be the old, fast version too.
fawkes
27th November 2024, 20:44
For me this is a non answer (not talking about you, but F1). Money is everything but it’s also not a problem for the sport. I mean, they could fund classic tracks using the revenue from other lucrative ones. Brazil didn’t payed the fee for years because Interlagos is a public facility and the country was stagnated from 2015-2022. There is always a way out.
SPArtacus
28th November 2024, 12:45
Monaco never paid a hosting fee. Ecclestone agreed to let the Brazilian GP operate without a fee for 3 seasons, but that was because he lives in Brazil and was trying buy the track.
SPArtacus
28th November 2024, 12:47
PS – But I think everyone agrees that some tracks should essentially be given a special landmark status that requires them to be on the calendar. But that will never happen.
stefano (@alfa145)
27th November 2024, 22:51
nice
fawkes
28th November 2024, 2:48
This was meant to be a reply to Jere
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
28th November 2024, 16:01
Glad to see Monza retained. You cannot, not have an Italian Grand Prix. The speed, the atmosphere, the Ferrari team, the Tifosi. And it has produced fairly decent races in the last few years.
I am not sure Imola will survive beyond next year though and to be honest, it has not produced good races. It’s just too narrow for these cars now.