F1 2026 race calendar status as Imola future clear despite lack of announcement

Daily Mirror

16-05-2025

This weekend's race looks increasingly likely to be a Formula 1 swansong for one of its most iconic tracks. Imola's story is packed with tradition and tragedy and the rolling Italian countryside makes it one of the most picturesque venues in F1, up against some serious competition.
But the writing has been on the wall for some time, amid F1's desire to expand into new markets and create more lucrative events. To that end, the Madrid Grand Prix debuts next year and, with the calendar unlikely to go beyond 24 annual races just yet, room will have to be made somewhere.
And, as Italy is the only country outside the US with more than one event, Imola is on the chopping block. It is one of just two races which is out of contract with F1 this year, but the other is the Las Vegas showpiece which will be kept around.
The recent news that Mexico will continue to host an annual race pushed Imola to the brink of becoming a rotational venue, or disappearing altogether. It has done so before – Imola hosted the San Marino Grand Prix for many years but was dropped after 2006.
It only returned in 2020 when the pandemic forced F1 to cobble together a schedule at short notice. But today's large and hefty F1 cars have outgrown this short and narrow circuit.
And organisers cannot even dream of coming close to being able to pay the sort of sums on offer from the likes of Thailand capital Bangkok and Qiddiya in Saudi Arabia, both of which are bidding for a place on the sport's future calendar.
No announcement over the future of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix is expected to come this weekend. It is understood the 2026 race calendar is still being finalised, but it's not looking good.
All we can hope is that this Sunday's race, if it is indeed to be the last one for a while at Imola, is one to remember. And that we might get the chance to come back again one day.
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As red-clad fans began to pour through the gates at Imola yesterday, one thing became immediately clear.
Even as Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari dream threatens to become a nightmare, the Tifosi still very much have his back. There were cut-outs of his face, massive flags bearing his racing number 44 and Hamilton-personalised hats and T-shirts everywhere you looked.
And, chatting to a few of those Italian fans, it's clear the belief remains that the marriage between the sport's most successful ever driver and team can be a happy one. If he were to somehow make it to the podium this weekend, or even win, this place might just explode.
Just hours after flying back from Cologne to say goodbye to their mother, who died before the race, Michael and Ralf Schumacher started the 2003 San Marino Grand Prix on the front row. Michael won while Ralf finished fourth, the former taking to the podium with tears in his eyes.
David Coulthard was the last McLaren winner at Imola, in 1998, while Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost are the only other drivers on a short list that Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are bidding to join this weekend,
Mercedes reserve Valtteri Bottas is keen on joining the new Cadillac F1 project and told me on Thursday that 'starting from scratch' with a team new to the grid is 'cool and interesting' to him.