F1 president reveals historic Grand Prix is at risk of being removed from calendar

Formula 1 president Stefano Domenicali has cast doubts on a historic Grand Prix when speaking about the race calendar.

Over the last few years, the popularity of F1 has grown massively, leading to more races being added to the already packed schedule.

Currently, there are 24 races in one season, which is a record high.

As a result of more and more countries looking to host an F1 Grand Prix, the sport has had to explore options of either removing existing races completely or placing them on rotation.

Back in January, it was announced that the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium has been extended for only the 2026, 2027, 2029 and 2031 seasons, meaning 2028 and 2030 will not feature Spa.

Now, there are growing concerns that the iconic Emilia Romagna Grand Prix could be next in line to be dropped.

The Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari debuted in 1981 but was axed in 2006 before being rebranded as the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in 2020.

The Imola race is one of two Grands Prix to be held in Italy, with Monza being the home of the Italian Grand Prix.

Monza is often regarded as Ferrari's home race and is contracted until 2031, which means Imola would likely be axed if F1 decides to only have one race in Italy.

With its contract expiring at the end of the year, F1 president Domenicali has admitted that it would be difficult to have two races in Italy.

The Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola. Image: Getty

As reported by Planet F1, Domenicali said to 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."

He added: "It’s hard for this situation with Imola and Monza to continue together on the calendar for long."

Speaking last year, the F1 boss touched on weighing up the right economic benefits and “growth on the market” when quizzed on selecting new races.

Domenicali said: "We have some news to share very, very soon with regard to the possibility in the mid-term to have some rotational European Grand Prix and some other new options coming later.

"This is something that, of course, we will clarify in the due course. It is true that we have a large demand of new possible venues that wants to come in and our choice will always be balanced between the right economical benefits that we can have as a system and also to leverage in the growth on the market that we can see potential that will be beneficial for us to grow even further our business."