Formula 1 announced Tuesday morning that the calendar for the 2021 season will be revised. The original opening race in Australia has been moved to November 21 due to the Coronavirus, so Bahrain is now offering the seasonal offer. At the request of the local promoter, the China Grand Prix is also no longer scheduled for April 11th. The organizer hopes to set a date later in the year and in the meantime pave the way for a new race in Imola. Just six months after the first Formula 1 race at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in sixteen years, Class A returns to the circuit on April 18th.
The fact that the race could return to the calendar in 2021 is made possible in part by a consortium concerned with the financial side. Last year, Imola didn’t have to pay a fee to the F1 Liberty Media owner, but this year the money must be paid off. That is why the Emilia-Romagna region, the municipality of Imola, Con Ami, Formula Imola, the Italian Motorsports Federation ACI and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs joined forces to end the fees. However, ACI President Angelo Stiichi Damiani admitted at a press conference that the consortium is not only aiming to fill a gap in the calendar once.
“It’s great that there are two Grand Prix races in Italy this year, and it’s great that Imola is organizing another,” said StiCi Damiani. “ACI and I are committed and we have done everything we can to make this possible. As a passionate Italian, I can only be proud of this result, which I put so much energy into. I hope we can repeat this in the future and have a second general race in Italy. On a consistent basis. ” Additionally, Imola hopes to welcome Formula 1 at least once every two years, but preferably every year.
Minardi founder Giancarlo Minardi who is now president of Formula Imola, believes the short lead-up to the race made the track much more than the experience gained last year. “We still have three months to go to the event and the November experience is valuable in this regard. We will try to replicate the organizational success of 2020 and implement improvements where possible.” Nor did the consortium lose hope among spectators in the race, admits Stefano Ponachini, president of Emilia-Romagna. We hope to be in a position to open the circuit to the public, but with a capacity in which we can ensure maximum security.
