How the 2025 Imola Grand Prix could be its last F1 race

This weekend Formula 1 heads to Italy for the first of two grands prix in the European country in the 2025 campaign, but could this be the last time we have multiple Italian GPs in the same year?

Well, firstly, the race this weekend is not technically the Italian Grand Prix and is instead named after the surrounding region, Emilia-Romagna, although this doesn't stop the majority of fans and drivers referring to it as Imola.

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The pinnacle of motorsport has raced at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari since 1980 in many different forms, first as the Italian Grand Prix and then as the San Marino Grand Prix before it returned with the Emilia-Romagna label in 2020.

The contract at this iconic circuit expires this year and with the future of its place on the ever-growing F1 calendar at risk, recent comments from Stefano Domenicali raise further questions over whether this year could be its last as a permanent race.

The F1 CEO stated that continuing to put on two races in Italy is difficult and one solution could be to rotate Imola and what many consider as the home of the tifosi- Monza.

The track in the Lombardy region sits just outside of Milan and makes for a popular destination with fans, especially given the number of legendary podium celebrations and track invasions from Ferrari's passionate fans in Monza.

Will Imola be removed from the F1 calendar?

Despite Monza becoming synonymous with the Scuderia, Imola is the true home circuit for Ferrari geographically and is located just one hour from their factory in Maranello.

Regardless of the historical significance of Imola however, the list of eager applications to join the racing calendar grows longer every day, with events in Thailand and South Africa among the potential additions.

Imola is a narrow track and therefore very difficult for drivers to execute exciting overtakes on, an issue which is now common at legacy tracks such as this one and Monaco.

The tracks were designed for much smaller traditional F1 cars and with only one DRS straight around the 4.909 km track, modern fans may not see the appeal of keeping it a frequent feature of the F1 calendar.

Discussing the future of the Emilia-Romagna GP, Domenicali told RAI radio: "Italy has always been and will be an important part of Formula 1."

"It will be increasingly difficult to have two races in the same country because interest in F1 is growing and it's a situation we will have to deal with in the coming months."

"It's hard for this situation with Imola and Monza to continue together on the calendar for long," he concluded.

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