After the silence of the flood, the Imola circuit roars again. Formula 1 arrives at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari Autodromo from 17 to 19 May. It is the fourth time since, in 2020, thanks to Covid, a fast that began in 2006 ended. And for the GP of Made in Italy and Emilia-Romagna is a restart after the stop imposed by the disaster that brought the region to its knees in May 2023. The first outing on the track of the Circus, which inaugurates the European racing season in Romagna, will be on Friday, with two free practice sessions (from 1.30pm to 2.30pm and from 5pm to 6pm).
The third free practice session (from 12.30pm to 1.30pm) and qualifying (from 4pm to 5pm) will be held on Saturday. The actual GP starts on Sunday. In addition to Formula 1, Formula 2, Formula 3 and Porsche Supercup will be on track during the weekend.
A huge crowd is expected, with over 200 thousand spectators expected on the track. “We are moderately optimistic that it will be a good weekend, there are around 9 thousand tickets left for Sunday, including important seats, we have lawn seats, many seats for Friday and Saturday”, predicts Gian Carlo Minardi, president of the Autodromo, on the sidelines of the presentation press conference held today in Bologna in the Emilia-Romagna Region, attended by the governor Stefano Bonaccini, the mayor of Imola Marco Panieri and the president of the Ice Agency Matteo Zoppas. The president of Aci Angelo Sticchi Damiani and the president and CEO of Cantine Ferrari Matteo Lunelli were connected remotely.
For Imola, the one coming in ten days will not be a race like all the others. On the table there is not only the issue of post-flood restart. This Grand Prix takes place on the thirtieth anniversary of the death of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna, which occurred in Imola in one of the most tragic weekends in the history of motor racing. Then there is the sporting theme: after the victory of Lando Norris (McLaren) in Miami, for the first time the dominance of Max Verstappen and his Red Bull seems a little less unbreakable, even if the reigning Dutch champion remains the ‘man to beat.
And then there is a third aspect, that of the negotiations with the FIA: Imola’s contract expires in 2025 and the renewal is not automatic. “The situation is obviously complex, there would be hope, on which we would like to work, of recovering 2023 in 2026. It would be another small step forward and then everything depends a lot on what will happen in Europe in the next two-three years”, explains Sticchi Damiani. “It’s clear that when we talk about taking away Grands Prix from Europe we think of those who have two of them, this seems clear to me – he admits – We have to resist”.
Bonaccini, however, has no doubts: “When we brought Imola back they told us it was impossible. After 110 years of history we brought the first stages of the Tour de France to the start and they told us not to even try because it was impossible. The Cup came Davis and they told us it was impossible because they were taking it away. Rest assured that the Imola Grand Prix will remain here”, he promises. And Panieri assures Imola’s commitment: “The future prospect is to continue investing because we want to continue to be on the calendar with this and other initiatives, so the Imola racetrack is ready and is doing its part.”
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