The organisers of the Rome grand prix have ruber stamped a five-year contract to host a street race in the capital from as early as 2012.
Organiser Maurizio Flammini met with Bernie Ecclestone at the Italian GP to sign the deal which, according to the regions Mayor Gianni Alemanno, would not replace the Monza event.
“The Monza race will remain, it won’t be destroyed by Rome’s,” Alemanno declared.
Despite having a contract signed, Alemanno admitted the race isn’t guaranteed unless an agreement can be made between the organisers and the EUR region.
“There are problems because we have to reach full agreement with the inhabitants of EUR. We have an agreement at the international level. There are no certainties, but our promise is very solid,” he added.
With 20 races on the calendar in 2011 and the American GP set to join in 2012, F1 could be set for a bumper 22 race calendar, something Bernie Ecclestone is keen to see, although the teams would likely boycott this resulting in the loss of some events.
