Formula 1 could return to the good old days of two races in Italy after Monza and Imola offered to host races without fans.
Currently, the sport is looking at ways of boosting the 2020 calendar which has seen almost half of the races either cancelled or postponed by the coronavirus.
One idea being mooted is to host multiple events at one circuit with the Red Bull Ring in Austria and Silverstone in the UK both offering to do just that.
In Italy, however, Imola has been vocal about its desire to host a first F1 race since 2006 and is now willing to meet the inevitable term that events this year will be limited to just team personnel in attendance.
“This situation is an opportunity for us to be a candidate for a Grand Prix this season,” Imola president Uberto Selvatico Estense told Motorsport on Wednesday
“Obviously it depends also on the government rules if they will allow us to run such a race.
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“Of course we’ll offer the track for free, and then talk about costs on our side if possible. We can ask the region for some help though we’re not in the situation where we can pay a promoter’s fee.
“It’s much easier without spectators, we don’t have to take care of the grandstands, we don’t have to take care of things like VIP hospitality and so on.
“For sure it will be cheaper than a complete organisation. People are already thinking about running football games with closed doors.”
The possibility of venues not previously scheduled to host races this year is now feasible after F1 dropped their previous calendar last week and is expected to unveil a revised one soon.
Although it was confirmed no talks with Imola have yet taken place because typically all contact would have to go through the Automobile Club D’Italia.
And now its president, Angelo Sticchi Damiani, is now suggesting Monza, the traditional Italian GP venue, is also willing to consider a closed-door event.
“The public is very important because the revenue goes to the organisers,” he said via Sky Italia.
“But here we have to choose not to have a world championship in 2020 or at least get the minimum of 15 races which is necessary for the television rights and to keep the system up, especially for the smaller teams.”
But rather than host two races at Monza, Imola is now suggesting to share the burden, potentially taking the place of the Belgian GP, which is now in doubt after public events were banned until September 1.
“Maybe it could be easier to organise a back-to-back race with Monza, in order to save money or save time for the teams,” Estense explained.
“But last year we even had nice weather in October, and also the first half of November. So we’re not scared about the weather.
“I think people would like to go back to Imola. It’s a dream for us, but we’re still dreaming!”