US EditionVerstappen: F1 dropping tracks like Imola 'a shame'
- Max Verstappen won the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix on May 19, 2025, at Imola, where Sunday's race was the final event under the track's current contract.
- For the 2026 season, Formula 1 will introduce a new urban race in Madrid, leading to the removal of Imola from the calendar amid constraints on the number of events and increasing interest in expanding to fresh locations.
- Verstappen said losing tracks like Imola, which demand respect and have historic significance since 1980, is "a shame" but acknowledged the sport's need to balance sporting and financial factors.
- He highlighted Imola's unique challenge, noting its speeds and difficulty to master, and expressed that the circuit will be missed when it leaves the calendar next season.
- The removal of Imola suggests Formula 1 prioritizes business growth and new locations, prompting concern from drivers and teams about preserving historic tracks important to the sport’s heritage.
11 Articles
11 Articles
Max Verstappen: "It's a Shame to Me
Imola probably falls out of the racing calendar – Max Verstappen sharply criticized this plan of Formula 1. "Losing these tracks is a shame. I fell in love with racing through these old school tracks like Imola, said the four-time world champion. The Red Bull star won the 65th Grand Prix of his career on Sunday – possibly for the last time in Imola. Because: The contract of the track operators has expired, an extension is considered improbable. …
Verstappen: Losing this kind of track [Imola] is a shame for F1
Max Verstappen has won four times in a row at Imola but a fifth next year looks unlikely with Formula 1 set to drop the Italian circuit, much to the Dutchman's consternation. There is no contract for 2026 and Formula 1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali, who was born and grew up in the town near Bologna, has said it will…
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