The future of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, one of Formula One’s most iconic venues, could be secured “by early September” according to Roberto Maroni, the governor of Lombardy.
The current deal expires at the end of 2016 but F1 commercial rights holder FOM is holding out on renewing the agreement, as the Monza owners struggle to find sufficient funds to host the Italian race beyond next year.
This led Imola, the former San Marino Grand Prix venue, to offer to share the event with Monza, a suggestion that received only a lukewarm response from the officials.
Along with the cities of Milan and Monza, the Lombardy region had put forward a multi-million plan to revamp the circuit in the hope that investment could be exempt from taxes. While the Italian senate had initially rejected such proposal, the institution has eventually backtracked and passed an amendment along these lines.
“With an investment tax free, we can close the deal with [F1 commercial supremo Bernie] Ecclestone by early September,” Maroni told Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Earlier this week, the governor of Lombardy also met Andrea Dall'Orto, the president of Sias – the company that manages the circuit – in order “to seal an agreement with the mayors of Milan and Monza by the end of August”.
“The GP has to stay in Monza, because Monza is Monza.”
The Lombardy venue has been a quasi-permanent fixture on the F1 calendar, hosting every Italian Grand Prix – bar one in 1980 – since the series' 1950 inception.
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