JANUARY 6, 2024

Monday start for Monza upgrades

Better late than never, as they say, as the urgent upgrades Monza needed tlo complete in order to negotiate a new deal to keep the Italian Grand Prix beyond the end of its current contract with Formula 1, are finally set to start on Monday, January 8th.

Formula 1’s CEO had made patently clear than unless some serious upgrades were made to the historic circuit the current contract would be the last one, with Imola getting the Italian Grand Prix, at least for the next three years, as the contract between the sports’ commercial rights holder and the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari is valid until the end of 2026.
After the end of last season the Italian confirmed that, “I am in good contact with the motorsport federation in Italy, but the work at Monza was supposed to start after the Grand Prix and still hasn't started in December. It should now start in the near future.”
Asked if he felt putting pressure on the local authorities to get the work done was the best course of action, when politics seemed to be the reason for the delay in the project, Domenicali defended that, “my pressure is constructive, but internal bureaucracies should not be able to stop certain projects. We must move ahead with the times or risking losing out to those who do.”
And making it clear that Monza had to do the work required, he concluded that, “it's all about understanding the desire to invest in F1 as a racing platform. Entertainment and business can no longer be on a private level. It is our country that must make a precise choice."
Now it has been announced that Domenicali will attend, remotely, a cerimony that will be held in Monza next Monday, where at 10AM, with Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini there to to kick off the start of the demolition work that will pave the way for the improvement of the circuit’s facilities, most of them having to be completed before this year’s Grand Prix, scheduled for the first weekend of September.
The lost of diginitaties includes, of course, Angelo Sticchi Damiani, the president of the Automoblile Club d’Italia and the local authorities and while Domenicali’s presence will be done virtually, it’s interesting to note there’s no FIA representative invited to the event, as the Formula 1 CEO is extremely keen to show he’s the one that calls all the shots in the sport and doesn’t want to share the spotlight with president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.