Newly-extended Italian GP at Monza back in doubt

Jan.29 (GMM) Another dark cloud has moved above the fabled Italian GP at Monza.

Just two months ago, following a long period of uncertainty, Formula 1 announced that it had agreed a contract extension to guarantee the sport stays at the iconic circuit through 2031.

“The recent upgrades to the circuit’s infrastructure and the planned investment show a strong commitment to the long-term future of Formula 1 in Italy,” F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said at the time.

In the official statement, the first person Domenicali thanked for pushing the deal across the line was Angelo Sticchi Damiani, the president of the Automobile Club d’Italia (Aci).

Just weeks before the new Italian GP deal, Damiani was re-elected for a fourth consecutive term. However, his place at the top of Aci is suddenly endangered.

Italian reports reveal that an “emergency decree” is calling for term limits for all Italian public sports bodies. If enacted, 82-year-old Sticchi Damiani will be pushed out, endangering the next steps in Monza’s reconstruction plan which is critical to the terms of the new contract with F1.

In reaction, Domenicali has written a letter to Italy’s Giorgia Meloni-led government, also addressed to several relevant federal ministers. The letter reportedly makes clear that F1’s governing body, the FIA, shares the concerns, with the measure potentially also affecting the race at Imola and the world rally stage in Sardinia.

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is understood to have also personally written to prime minister Meloni.