“If it could be done without any costs and could prove useful for the city, it can be done as a one-off. However, today's request for cities hosting Formula 1 races is being based on infrastructure investments, safety, light systems and so on. So I think there are other priorities we should think about right now,” said Montezemolo, talking to the Italian press at the inauguration of Luiss University's academic year.
Di Montezemolo's thoughts on the matter are no news, as he previously argued that the Rome Grand Prix is not a race F1 should consider in the long run. As soon as rumors emerged that the Italian capital was planning to host a race in the F1, many Northern League representatives (defending Monza, the current host of the Italian GP) “advised” Rome's officials to “stop stealing things from the North).
While the debate on the Rome GP was heading toward a radical conflict, F1 supreme Bernie Ecclestone “spiced up” things a little bit, revealing that he's all for a potential race in the Italian capital. As revealed by race promoter & organizer Maurizio Flammini in a recent interview for Gazzetta dello Sport, “we have the approval of the city council, the regional government, the provincial government and of Ecclestone too.”
It seems that famous circuit designer Hermann Tilke has already proceeded in inspecting the EUR district of the Italian capital earlier this month, in order to figure out a potential layout. Flammini also announced that the budget for Rome hosting an F1 race for 2011 or 2012 is $150 million.
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