Imola Circuit President calls on fans to support 2023 GP to secure future

Gian Carlo Minardi and the Imola organisers are keen to give F1 decision makers a difficult time discussing the future of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 event in Imola, GPblog spoke to him about how Imola has re-entered the Formula 1 calendar, the work being done on the circuit and the future prospects of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.

A great return

In the 2020 season, the year disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, Formula 1 returned to Imola after 14 years. As the pandemic situation persisted, Imola bid to host another closed-door Grand Prix in 2021. These efforts, according to Minardi, have been repaid: "At that point there, I think we have rightly been recognised for the effort made and so we have concluded an agreement until 2025."

For Minardi, the return of Imola to the calendar has been welcomed by everyone: "I think it should not be me who hails Imola because the drivers have hailed it. All the drivers have said that it is a fantastic circuit, not easy both to learn and to complete a Grand Prix. Mistakes pay double here, but I believe that the history of Imola has few rivals in the world of Formula 1".

The president of the circuit is also keen to recall the success of the last edition: "Last year, we had the first Grand Prix in attendance, and especially in Italy, it was the first event with over 130,000 people present over the weekend. It was not easy, we had some things on which we are working and improving".

The works for this edition

At Imola, there is great excitement for this year's edition. Minardi describes the interventions that are being made on the circuit: "We are bringing the daily capacity towards 100,000 seats, we have acquired spaces that were not owned but rented from private owners, we have enhanced and are enhancing the Curva della Tosa, we have increased the spaces at the Curva Gresini also enhancing them for those with disabilities, we have made other grandstands in the most important corners enhancing them from the 75,000 seats that Imola normally had to reach 100,000 daily."

But the organisation at Imola is not just focusing on capacity. "We have upgraded the car parks and we have reinforced with shuttles that work to take you to the circuit directly to the various bends, we have upgraded and concluded an agreement with the State Railways as Imola is just a few kilometres from Bologna which is a strategic centre for travelling in Italy so we will even have fast trains available," explains Minardi.

The future of Imola

In recent years, however, more and more European circuits are at risk of losing their place on the calendar in favour of Grand Prix held in the Middle East, or in the USA, where the F1 market is booming. Minardi comments as follows: "We have to be the ones who work to make it difficult for those who choose where to go for Grand Prix races. It is clear that we cannot have the facilities that Qatar has, the facilities that Miami has, and so on. We have one thing, we have the history, we have the sportsmanship, we have the people."

For Minardi, the contribution of the fans is fundamental to keep the Emilia-Romagna GP on the calendar even after 2025: "We have to work, we have to make investments, things that we are doing and obviously we have to have the support of those who come to Imola. If we will be full in the period in this Grand Prix and also in the others we will make it difficult for those who have to make choices".

Then he continues: "On the one hand, we have to make investments and we are making them over time in order to get a contract renewal, possibly to extend this contract, but we need the support of all the fans to show what Imola is and what Imola is worth beyond the shows at certain circuits, which I call more show than Grand Prix."