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Ecclestone willing to make 'very small' Monza concession

Bernie Ecclestone is willing to make "a very small" concession for Monza in order to try and keep the Italian Grand Prix on the F1 calendar.

The Italian GP's future has been in doubt with financial constraints so far preventing Monza from extending its contract to host the race. Ivan Capelli - president of the Automobile Club of Milan - has been working to try and secure funding which will ensure the race remains at the iconic circuit, but has yet to reach an agreement with Ecclestone.

Asked by F1i during an exclusive interview if Ecclestone would make a concession based on Monza's historical importance, Capelli replied: "To a very small extent, yes.

"It’s a very small percentage. At the end of the day, I can understand him, because if he is creating a situation where Monza is paying a lot less compared to others, then other circuits can start to complain, asking why Monza has this treatment while they don’t."

And Capelli says the biggest issue at present is a lack of funding from the Italian government, with the former Ferrari and Leyton House driver insisting Monza is not looking for total backing.

"The government must be involved, but not for the full amount. We have a business plan: there is money coming from the region here, the ACI (Automobile Club of Italy) is doing its part and the last part we are missing is what might come from Rome."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.