24.04.2022
Angelo Sticchi Damiani (ACI): “The foundations of a unique synergy like that between Imola and Monza are being strengthened, to the full advantage of Italian sport”.
A party with 130,000 enthusiastic spectators who held their breath until Max Verstappen triumphed over the finish line on Red Bull, then invaded the track of the Enzo e Dino and Ferrari International Autodrome in Imola: thus ended the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Made in Italy and Emilia Romagna, the first European appointment in the world F1 calendar.
The event expected by millions of fans was not lacking from the highest Italian institutions of government and sport, present in Imola at the invitation of the Automobile Club of Italy: among these, the Minister of Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility, Enrico Giovannini; the Undersecretary for Sport, Valentina Vezzali; the president of CONI, Giovanni Malagò.
The emotions started even before the race with the Mameli anthem played by the Carabinieri Music Band and the passage of the Frecce Tricolori on the starting grid.
“This Grand Prix represents a historic success – said the President of the Automobile Club of Italy, Angelo Sticchi Damiani – achieved with an unprecedented commitment from ACI and the invaluable support of all national and local institutional forces. A success because we are the only European country to be able to show off two GPs; because today it was run for the third time in 18 months on the Imola track; because the Emilia-Romagna appointment with F1 will be repeated at least until 2025. A success objectively measured by the huge turnout of the public, always celebrating despite Ferrari’s failure to win. All this strengthens the foundations of a unique synergy in the world, that between Imola and Monza, to the full advantage of Italian sport “.
“Last year the idea was born of being able to host a second Grand Prix here in Imola – said the Minister of Sustainable Infrastructures and Mobility, Enrico Giovannini – and the fact of being the only ones in Europe with a double appointment with F1 it makes us very happy ”.
“An extraordinary edition finally with the public – emphasized the Undersecretary for Sport, Valentina Vezzali – in a magical circuit like that of Imola, which will be further enhanced in the coming years. There is a constant need for major events so that sports practice can take root more and more in our territory “.