Imola Attracts Record Crowd For Potential Last F1 Race

The 2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola attracted a record weekend crowd of 242,000, though doubts remain over the circuit’s future on the F1 calendar.

Formula 1 has announced a “record-breaking” weekend attendance figure of 242,000 at the 2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. It’s an increase of around 40,000 from last year’s total, where attendance was estimated to be around 200,000. It’s also a growth of over 100,000 from the 2022 race weekend, where attendance stood at just under 130,000.

Max Verstappen secured his second win of the 2025 season at Imola, becoming the first driver to take four consecutive wins at the Italian circuit. On his first appearance on Italian soil as a Ferrari driver, Lewis Hamilton recorded his best result with the team to date with fourth place. Both he and Charles Leclerc recovered to top six finishes in front of the Tifosi despite disappointingly missing out on reaching the final stage of Saturday’s qualifying session.

No News on Imola’s F1 Future

Perhaps surprisingly, there was no news about the fate of Imola’s future on the calendar over the 2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix weekend. 2025 is the final year of the circuit’s current contract and it is widely expected that the venue will not appear on the schedule next season.

There are 24 available places on the calendar in 2026, with 23 circuits already signed up – including the new Madring circuit in Madrid, which will become host of the Spanish Grand Prix in 2026. After a recent contract renewal for Mexico City, Imola is one of only two tracks – along with Las Vegas – which is yet to officially confirm its position on the 2026 schedule. Vegas’ renewal appears to be all but confirmed, with F1 holding an agreement in principle to continue racing on the Las Vegas Strip into the 2030s.

Imola has a long history with Formula 1, having first appeared on the calendar in 1980 as host of the Italian Grand Prix. It went on to host the San Marino Grand Prix in every year from 1981 to 2006, before re-joining the calendar in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic, when it hosted a unique two-day event. It has appeared on the schedule every year since, though the 2023 race was cancelled just days before the event due to severe local flooding.

It is possible that Imola could remain on the calendar in some capacity in the future, perhaps as a rotational round with Spa-Francorchamps. Late last year, the host of the Belgian Grand Prix announced that it would appear on the calendar biennially from 2028 onwards. It is yet to be revealed which circuit, or circuits, the track will alternate with.

The 2026 calendar has not yet been revealed. Last year, the following season’s schedule was revealed in April – much earlier than in any previous season. Read more: When Will The 2026 F1 Calendar Be Announced?

Record Breaking Year Continues For F1

The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix continues a strong run of attendance figures in the early season for Formula 1 in 2025. The Imola race becomes the fourth-best attended race weekend of the year so far, behind Australia (465,498), Miami (275,000) and Japan (266,000), all of which also posted higher figures this year than in 2024.

The Chinese and Bahrain Grands Prix also revealed higher figures than one year previously, while attendance figures for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix have not yet been announced.

Of the 17 races remaining this season, the Canadian, British, United States and Mexico City races are likely to get the highest spectator numbers. The British Grand Prix was the best-attended race last year, with 480,000 in attendance over the four-day event.