The Italian perspective: Why F1 needs to keep Monza

I have to admit that being our home race, we Italians are proud to have the race. But it is a historical grand prix for all of Formula 1. It is like the British GP at Silverstone, Monte Carlo: it is something we have to keep in Formula 1 for the story of the sport.

But to keep Monza there must agreement with Bernie Ecclestone and at the minute there is no money to do a deal.

Monza has a contract until 2016, but at the moment there is a big problem finding the money for a new deal with Bernie. Monza has €20m to spend, but only for the track renovations - not to pay rights for the future. I hope our politicians not only talk about Monza being on the calendar, but they actually do something.

Sometimes in Italy people forget that Monza is like having the Olympic Games every year - it is an event we have to be very proud of. We need the whole country not to think of Monza as something for north Italy, Lombardy or Milan, but to think of it as the Italian Grand Prix.

There is speculation that the Italian GP could remain on the calendar but be held at another track. While Mugello might be interested to have F1 as well as MotoGP, they do not have the structure for Formula 1. They have staged testing, it is a Ferrari track and a spectacular track, but I don't think Mugello has any intention of trying to get into Formula 1.

Imola is also historic for Italy, even if it was branded as the San Marino GP. Like Mugello, there are many problems at Imola with the infrastructure - there are no stands, all the structure of the paddock has to be rebuilt. But what I know is they are ready with a project that can be implemented in 18 months to renovate the venue, do work on the track and build some new stands for the Formula 1.

But Imola is just speculation, the speculation that comes up every year when Bernie and Monza have to do a new deal. It would be very difficult for Imola to come back onto the calendar, it would be easier for Monza to find the money to stay.

You can do Formula 1, but if you have no Monza, no Silverstone, no Monaco, no Spa, this is no longer Formula 1.

Monza isn't as salubrious as some of the new tracks and of course work needs to be done to renovate the venue, but you have to consider that we are inside a park. It is a fantastic park, but it means it is not easy to do certain jobs because you have get approval from so many people and there are so many things to put in place before you can change the track and structures.

It is an old venue, the stands are very, very old, but sometimes this is also beautiful to see something that can remind you of the epic fights of the past.

Monza know that they have to change, there is a new board and they are working to make changes. They plan to have a kart track inside the park and to have more events at the track and this is the way to make money to pay for a new deal. But the most important thing is that the Italian politicians have to help and do a deal to save Monza and not just talk about it.

We know at the moment money is a problem for everyone, Germany is the biggest economy in the Eurozone, but they don't have a grand prix this year. So we have to wait and see if the money will be found for a new deal. They do have some money, but they need to make renovations with that money and they have to find other money.

Not having an Italian GP would not only be a disaster for Italian motorsport, but also for Formula 1 as a whole. It is already a disaster not to have the German GP and the French GP.

We are happy to see new countries and venues join like Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and Baku, but the sport needs to keep its backbone.

It is like having Wimbledon in Dubai. Maybe Dubai has more money and maybe they can create better grass, but it is not Wimbledon.

You can do Formula 1, but if you have no Monza, no Silverstone, no Monaco, no Spa, this is no longer Formula 1.