F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone has "raised the prospect of Imola returning" to F1 as he seeks to keep Ferrari's home Italian Grand Prix on the calendar after Monza's contract runs out next year, according to Alan Baldwin of REUTERS. Ecclestone said, "Yeah, yeah. Maybe we will be back to Imola, let's see. We want to keep Italy. I'd like to get Germany back." Imola replaced Monza as host of the Italian Grand Prix in '80, when the venue near Milan was "being refurbished, and stayed on the calendar" from '81-06 as the San Marino Grand Prix. Monza has "been on the calendar since the championship started" in '50 and is "loved by Italians as the 'Pista Magica.'" However, the contract expires in '16 and the future has been "clouded by uncertainty over whether a new deal can be agreed." Last July Ecclestone told the Gazzetta dello Sport, "I don't think we'll do another contract, the old one was a disaster for us from the commercial point of view. After 2016, bye bye." Ecclestone: "It's useless to keep on talking. In order to have a Grand Prix, you need money. If the money is there, the race takes place" (REUTERS, 6/21).
