Max Verstappen said he will miss racing at Imola after winning Formula 1’s last race at the circuit for the foreseeable future.
Although the 2026 F1 calendar has not been announced yet, Imola is not expected to feature among its 24 races. F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has already indicated it will not return next year.“I love driving here,” said Verstappen, whose victory on Sunday was his fourth in a row at the track.
However he said he understood why F1 is increasingly replacing heritage venues with races in target markets such as the USA.
“Losing these kind of tracks is a shame,” he said. “I get it from F1’s side of things, of course — the new tracks that we are going to. You have to see it from a sportive side and a financial side, right? If you want to grow the business and make it more popular, I get it.
“For me, of course, personally, when I just speak about the enjoyment of driving, it’s this kind of tracks that made me fall in love with racing in general — in go-karting, even, because you have the same thing in karting where some tracks are more special than others.
“When you start watching Formula 1, there were always these few tracks where you just look at the speeds, you look at how difficult they are to master and the history of the sport at certain tracks. It’s all very special and gives you a bit more emotion.
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“So it’s definitely a shame for me personally, but what can I do about it?”
Oscar Piastri is concerned F1 is going too far in removing classic circuits in favour of temporary venues which drivers often find less challenging.
“We need to be careful not to lose all the historical tracks that have been here forever because at least 75% of them are the favourites for the drivers,” he said.
“If you ask the drivers their top three favourites, it’s probably a mix of Silverstone, Suzuka, Spa, here and probably Zandvoort. Here is probably going to disappear, now Zandvoort is disappearing, Spa is [going] on rotation. I think Monza is pretty safe — we’ve got some other problems if Monza disappears.
“But we do need to be careful to keep all these tracks. A qualifying session around Imola and tracks like Imola are definitely more exciting than some other tracks on the calendar. But it’s obviously a balance.”
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2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
- Antonelli was tiring from home race at Imola attention by Friday – Wolff
- Ferrari struggling to recreate set-up which “worked well” in Shanghai – Hamilton
- Verstappen told Red Bull to use Tsunoda before “hold him up” call
- ‘Saturdays have been mine for years but for some reason it’s drifted away’ – Norris
- “Plan C?”: Why McLaren only got their strategy right for one driver at Imola
S
20th May 2025, 8:37
How about get your F1 driving colleagues together, go all in as promoter and collectively fund your own GP on any track you like?
Put the GPDA to some positive use that benefits everyone, for a change.
Would be great to see F1 return to many of the Grade 1 circuits which can no longer afford to be on the calendar otherwise – and possibly even add justification for Grade 2 circuit owners to fund the upgrades necessary to bid for F1 on their own.
Drivers could also use the GPDA to push FOM/FIA for better racing cars, so that boring races become less common. F1 drivers do want actual on-track racing and competition, don’t they?
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
20th May 2025, 11:03
Yeh maybe they can turn their hand at some other issues in between the 24 races and myriad sponsorship requirements. Perhaps design a car also?
S
20th May 2025, 11:25
All they seem to do is complain about what’s wrong with F1. About time they started coming up with some decent answers, and maybe even investing their excessive fortunes back into motorsport. They aren’t victims.
They have plenty of power to influence direction and decision-making in F1 if they really want it to change.
F1 drivers have pushed through great changes in the past – today’s drivers almost seem content just being celebrities.
Working 24 weekends of the year would be a great privilege. Most of us mortals work at least 48 of them, and for a tiny fraction of the rewards. If only those opportunities were presented to everyone.
rprp
20th May 2025, 15:55
Perhaps if you were one of the world’s very best at what you do, or have a particularly rich father, you could only work 24 weekends of the year…
(Not that they don’t also work, travel, train and eat right the rest of the time)
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
20th May 2025, 18:21
You thinking they work 24 weekends is all that is needed in this bizaare argument. To end it
S
21st May 2025, 5:22
You got me, I was just being facetious. Nevertheless, the point should be clear. The drivers do have more spare time than the average worker, and far more means to make a significant difference rather than merely complaining about the way things are.
They are among the primary beneficiaries of F1’s push to increase profits, after all – so it’s not like it’s all doom and gloom for them.
BMW P85 V10
20th May 2025, 21:17
You can’t say Verstappen isn’t investing back in motorsports.
Also keep in mind that the FIA recently changed some rules where you could be punished for openly critisizing them on their decisions. So Verstappen says what he thinks, but makes sure he’s chosing the right words.
A maximum of 3 street circuits should be added to the new concorde agreement.
An Sionnach
20th May 2025, 20:07
Good one! F1 drivers have more money than a lot of us, but paying to host a race would be a lot, even for them.
The original post seems to take issue with the fact that Max and the others are wealthy. Well, go ahead and become an F1 driver, then. Once you’re world number one can you pay to bring back Watkins Glen, please?!?
An Sionnach
20th May 2025, 20:12
This was a reply to Tony Mansell sug-jesting(!) they design a car. Yes, Mr. S needs to recalibrate their reality sensors!
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
20th May 2025, 20:24
It’s totally doo Lilly. Most of them are not that rich or they wouldnt be if they paid the license to stage an f1 event for 1 year . That they also believe they just sit around between weekend racing makes me wonder what they are doing on here ? It’s not the Radio Times
An Sionnach
21st May 2025, 18:15
I think Dire Straits wrote a song about this. Be an F1 driver – it’s Money for Nothing!
Leksa (@leksa)
20th May 2025, 15:02
Max is so rich he could pay the race fee himself for the rest of his career. I don’t know if it would be legally possible, but it would be great.
If I was Max I would also pay Liberty that Abu Dhabi is dropped from the calendar.
MacLeod (@macleod)
21st May 2025, 7:50
If that is legal possible Max would try to drop some races by paying. But fees are 60+milions so expect double to remove 1……
albo94
20th May 2025, 9:59
Imola is one of the best races to attend given his elevation changes and hills that give you great view spots. I was there last weekend and I loved it.
Unfortunately money rules, and even if it was a record-breaking event (in terms of attendance), Imola cannot compete with the new venues.
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
20th May 2025, 10:28
The drivers can make their views known but little else. There has been so many comments from fans and drivers recently, that they lament the passing of the older, traditional circuits. But Liberty and F1 aren’t listening. Big payments and sponsorship from Gulf states and anywhere else willing to pay over the odds is ALL they are interested in.
They say they are growing the sport which is not a bad thing and may technically be true, but it’s the quality of racing and competitiveness that does this. This year and last have been close but this could easily change with the advent of a dominant engine/car next year onwards.
Oh well :-(. We all still here though aren’t we.
An Sionnach
20th May 2025, 20:22
The talk of a second race in China was a joke. Is the country responding to the current GP? Any sign of a few quid from their automotive industry towards the sport? A team? Zhou Guanyu is still mentioned in connection with a comeback. He could definitely come back in a Lotus backed by Geely.
MarkWebber (@markwebber)
20th May 2025, 17:26
This was probably already discussed before but was there an official explanation as to why it was named Emilia Romagna and not San Marino when it was reintroduced to the calendar?
David (@nvherman)
20th May 2025, 23:10
@markwebber well for one thing, Imola is in Emilia Romagna, Italy, not San Marino anyway. So there’s that
David (@nvherman)
20th May 2025, 23:18
@makwebber I suspect that the actual reason is because when the Italian Grand Prix went back to being hosted by Monza, the Imola circuit (Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari) was left without a Grand Prix, and persuaded the Automobile Club of San Marino to apply to host a Grand Prix. Which is why it was so named.
Imola was chosen during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic as a replacement venue which was intended to be a one-off, but has ended up hosting 6 events, named Emilia Romagna after the region in which it sits
MarkWebber (@markwebber)
21st May 2025, 20:06
That makes sense. As the Automobile Club of San Marino wasn’t involved anymore there was no reason to use its name. It’s a shame, as it had become traditional but Liberty probably isn’t concerned about that. Thanks for the explanation!
Ferdi
21st May 2025, 7:15
Liberty will do as it pleases. And it pleases itself when making more revenue for their invisible shareholders. No passion here, just greed. So, correct assessment from Max. There is nothing he can do.