The Mayor and President of Imola have reacted following the news that the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix has been excluded from the 2026 F1 schedule.

The dropping of the popular venue is one of the big shocks following the release of the 2026 schedule, as Spain gets two races and Canada goes head-to-head with the Indy 500.

While the long term futures of both Imola and Barcelona was in doubt, it was thought that both, like a number of other European venues, might be put on a rotating basis.

With the Spanish Grand Prix heading to the Madring it was expected that Barcelona would make way for Imola next year, but instead there will be two races in the country.

"The provisional calendar of the Formula 1 Grand Prix for the 2026 season has been announced, from which Imola is excluded," reads a statement issued by Imola's Mayor, Marco Panieri and President, Michele de Pascale.

"This is news that we were aware of and that understandably generates questions, disappointment and a sense of bitterness on the outside," it continues, "because in recent years our territory has proven to be able to host an extraordinary event with record numbers, capable of combining international prestige, promotion of Made in Italy, of the Motor Valley and concrete returns for the economic and tourist system of our land and of the entire country.

"In fact, the Grand Prix in Imola was one of the most loved and appreciated by fans and drivers, as was also forcefully demonstrated in the days following the event, and its uniqueness in the world was evident: that of uniting the race on the track with the surrounding territory, starting from a historic center to be experienced.

"However, we want to be very clear: this news is by no means the final word," they insist. "For the Region and the territory, the path undertaken by Imola and the Gran Premio del Made in Italy e dell'Emilia-Romagna does not end here. We are and were aware of the complexity of the dynamics linked to the calendar and the picture was very complicated from the beginning.

"The contract signed in 2021 - which few believed possible at the time - envisaged the stable return of the Gran Premio to Imola until 2025.

"As the Emilia-Romagna Region and the Municipality of Imola, among the promoting partners, we have truly done everything that could be done in this phase. We have highlighted several times, on several occasions, in different ways, to all the actors involved, the importance and strategic nature of the issue. We did it with transparency, clarity, maximum availability and institutional collaboration."

The news is particularly surprising given Imola is the home town of F1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali, who will have found it a difficult decision to make.

Having "allocated the necessary resources in the budget also for 2026, as had been requested by the other institutional and sporting partners after the commitment made to recover next year the missed 2023 edition due to the dramatic flood events", the statement concludes: "However, this is not the time for controversy, buck-passing and resignation. Now is the time for everyone to take responsibility and resume discussions for a return to the calendar."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Burton, 11/06/2025 21:27

"Mr. Mayor talks of the GP as a mutually beneficial relationship...it isn't, the only point of it is to give more money to John Malone."

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2. Posted by BrightonCorgi, 11/06/2025 15:57

"When's the Rwanda race going to happen?"

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3. Posted by Editor, 11/06/2025 13:52

"@ Kkiirmki

Exactly."

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4. Posted by Kkiirmki, 11/06/2025 12:54

"Sure, when it was convenient during the COVID pandemic, F1 was all too happy to race there. But then when a new shinier event comes along, i.e. one with more money and "celebrities", out it goes."

Imola reacts to 2026 calendar exclusion

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