F1 insider suggests cancelling iconic race to make way for German GP

Former Formula 1 driver Karun Chandhok has called for the cancellation of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, also known as Imola, to make way for the German Grand Prix on the F1 calendar. Chandhok reckons Imola is too narrow to allow multiple overtakes in the current F1 cars, while the German GP would make more sense considering Mercedes' influence in the sport. 

The German Grand Prix featured on the F1 calendar before 2019. Italy, on the other hand, hosts two races at Imola and Monza. With Mercedes supporting another customer team in the sport from 2026 when it will supply power units and gearboxes to Alpine, and with F1 legends such as Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel hailing from Germany, Chandhok feels strange about the lack of a German Grand Prix on the calendar.

In addition, with Formula 1 cars of the current era being much larger and heavier than cars from one or two decades ago, it has made it challenging to overtake on narrow race tracks such as Imola, prompting Chandhok to suggest its cancellation. He told Sky Sports F1, as quoted by RacingNews365:

“It's a fantastic venue to go to, it’s obviously historic. In qualifying, it's a very exciting track to watch and for the drivers [to take part in].

“But it's too narrow for the racing nowadays, with the size of the cars we've got, I think F1 has outgrown it. We're not seeing much overtaking there.”

Chandhok noted that it feels odd not to have a German Grand Prix on the calendar, and similarly, the absence of the French Grand Prix also stands out. He said:

"I feel like we need a German Grand Prix back on the track.

“It feels really strange to have an F1 calendar without a German Grand Prix and a French Grand Prix.

“There’s obviously Mercedes, and we have such a long lot of German influence in the sport, the time with [Sebastian] Vettel and [Michael] Schumacher and all that sort of stuff.

“It feels a bit odd not to have a German Grand Prix.”

Chandhok's remarks follow a recent announcement by Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, who revealed that several European circuits may be added to a rotating calendar, appearing every other year. This move aims to make room for new venues, as the demand for the sport continues to grow significantly. Announcing that the rotational calendar will be revealed soon, Domenicali stated on a Liberty Media investors call, as reported by Motorsport.com:

"We have some news to share very, very soon with regard to the possibility in the mid-term to have some rotational European Grand Prix and some other new options coming later.

"This is something that, of course, we will clarify in the due course. It is true that we have a large demand of new possible venues that want to come in and our choice will always be balanced between the right economical benefits that we can have as a system and also to leverage the growth on the market that we can see potential that will be beneficial for us to grow even further our business."