28/12/2023
NEWS STORY
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali sends a clear warning to officials at Monza that circuit must be brought up to scratch.
Those who have visited the legendary Autodromo Nazionale Monza will tell you that a major part of its charm is its history. Walking through the park in which the circuit is located - the largest walled park in Europe, you can almost hear the engines of Ascari, Fangio, Clark and so many more.
True, some of its facilities, and in all honesty it doesn't have that many, are from that same bygone age, but the fact is that the circuit absolutely oozes history and character.
However, at a time F1 welcomes the likes of Las Vegas, Miami, Qatar and Jeddah, history and character count for nothing, it is style over substance that matters, and, of course, money.
Consequently it comes as no surprise that F1 has sent a clear warning to officials at the Autodromo, to bring the circuit up to date or else.
Among the upgrades being demanded are a new underpass into the paddock, the resurfacing of the entire track and various other logistical updates.
"The work at Monza was supposed to start after the Grand Prix and still hasn't started in December," he told Rai's La Politica nel Pallone. "It should now start in the near future.
"I am in good contact with the motorsport federation in Italy," he added. "We are negotiating, but we need elements to carry this negotiation forward."
Monza, like the similarly historic tracks at Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps, receive virtually no government help, unlike those in the Middle East where governments are keen to promote their various countries, and then there is the US where backers are almost queuing up in a bid to get on the perceived money making machine that is F1 these days.
"My push is a constructive push," insists Domenicali, who once again warned that Monza cannot rely on its history in order to retain its place on the schedule. "We must keep pace with the times.
"It's all about understanding the desire to invest in F1 as a racing platform," he added. "Entertainment and business can no longer be on a private level. It is our country that must make a precise choice."
However, the F1 CEO had nothing but praise for another Italian track - that situated in the town where he was born and where he first worked as a youth, Imola.
"In 2020, Imola had an extraordinary opportunity and were ready for the unexpected call," he said. The race had to be dropped from this year's schedule at the last minute due to heavy rain in the Emilia Romagna region. The flood tragedy didn't allow us to race there this season, so we can't wait to race there again."
Meanwhile, Zak Brown suggests that those circuits that are struggling financially could be used on a rotating basis as the McLaren boss eyes a 28-race calendar.
"24 races is the max for people's well-being, but we need to continue to expand the sport," said the American. "So I'd like to see a scenario where you maybe have 20 fixed Grands Prix and, say, eight that rotate every other year. So you have a 24-race calendar, but you expand the sport by going into other regions and other countries.
"That being said, I don't know the economics inside out of how it works as a track promoter," he admitted. "So whether an alternating calendar is economically viable for the promoter, but I think that would be the ideal scenario.
"It is easy for me to scratch that out, but more difficult for Formula 1 to put that scenario together. But I think that would be most ideal."
Of course, ignoring the enormous pressure this would put on those working in the sport, the fact is that many of us put quality before quantity.