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Imola switch for Italian GP unlikely, says federation boss

Automobile Club d'Italia president Angelo Sticchi Damiani has insisted that the Italian Grand Prix is unlikely to switch to Imola because the state funding is legally committed to current venue Monza.

Fernando Alonso and Jarno Trulli

Fernando Alonso and Jarno Trulli

Renault F1

The future of the grand prix at Monza has been in doubt for quite some time, with Bernie Ecclestone recently suggesting that the event could move to Imola instead.

Ecclestone, however, noted that the choice of venue was first and foremost dependent on the national authority ACI, and its boss Damiani has now said the event should continue at Monza.

"In the Italian financial law it is written that the grand prix should be Monza, not Imola,” Damiani said at the FIA's Sport Conference in Turin.

"The involvement of the Automobile Club of Italy, who is involved directly in the running of the grand prix starting next year, is for an Italian Grand Prix running in Monza, not in Imola.

"This is a new law, a financial law, that was approved at the beginning of the year.”

"Close to an agreement"

Damiani also insisted that, despite a number of hurdles in the negotiations, the relevant parties were close to agreeing to a deal that would secure the immediate future of the F1 race at Monza.

"It is the first time in Italy that it takes a burden to organise a Formula 1 grand prix with significant funds," Damiani said.

"The fact that ACI is replacing the Automobile Club Milan - which is organising the grand prix this year - is of course a revolution, a quite relevant one.

"Thanks to the support of the Lombardy regional authority, and hopefully also thanks to a national sponsor - although these have to be defined in the details - thanks to these supports, we managed to begin [negotiations] in February.

“In Monte Carlo we found many common points with Ecclestone. There are things that still have to be defined, but I dare say we are very close to an agreement despite some actions which have not helped the negotiations. Quite the opposite, it has made it difficult.”

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