Deal agreed in principle for new Italian GP terms; Silverstone says talks still progressing, but denies agreement now in place
Tuesday 30 April 2019 16:26, UK
The Italian GP looks set to stay on the Formula 1 calendar beyond 2019 after organisers revealed a deal had been agreed in principle for a new five-year term.
The Italian motorsport authority, the ACI, tweeted that a "broad agreement" on financial terms had been reached with F1 officials to extend the Monza race's deal until 2024.
Monza, which is situated on the outskirts of Milan, has staged more F1 grands prix than any other venue since the world championship began in 1950 and is the home circuit of Ferrari.
The ACI said it had given a mandate to its president to continue discussions in order to reach a signed deal 'as soon as possible'.
Monza, which first opened in the 1920s, is one of five circuits on the 2019 calendar currently without a contract for next year.
Silverstone is also among them and the British GP venue tweeted earlier on Tuesday that "talks are still progressing" with F1 chiefs, with the venue denying earlier reports that a deal had already been agreed.
Spain, Germany and Mexico are the other venues in the final year of their present deals - however, speaking exclusively to Sky Sports in March, F1's managing director of motorsports Ross Brawn expressed confidence that the sport would retain its full complement of races.
"Despite the pessimism, I'd be surprised if we lose any of the races we have," Brawn told Sky Sports F1.
What does the future hold for the F1 calendar?
This year's schedule for 21 races equals the record first set in 2016, but F1's owners have consistently indicated they plan to add some further events to the sport's season.
A new street race around Hanoi in Vietnam is already scheduled for 2020. A return to Zandvoort in Holland for the first time since 1985, meanwhile, has been heavily mooted.
"We've got some exciting races coming up," said Brawn. "Vietnam I'm really excited about because we've been much more involved with the circuit design there. Incredibly enthusiastic, new culture and new place for people to visit. There are some other races on the horizon.
"We want to have two or three more races in a season and we believe we can do that without over-stressing the teams, by refining their weekends."
Get a first look at the layout for the Hanoi race in a special SkyPad Extra video with Sky F1's Anthony Davidson above!
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