Will Imola replace Monza as the home of the Italian Grand Prix? Kate Walker looks at the uncertain future of one of F1's most-loved races.
Formula One involves an awful lot of waiting. Time spent hanging around in airports and hotels, the dead time of a red flag, or hours killed waiting for interviews and media sessions to get underway.
While waiting, talk often turns to idle chatter of just how we'd run things if given control of the calendar, where we'd race and how often. Imola is always one of the first venues to make an appearance on these fantasy calendars - it's FIA-homologated to the appropriate safety standards, it's in an absolutely gorgeous part of the world with sensational food and wine, and it's a track that delivers good racing.
Last May, a group of us went to Imola for the Senna and Ratzenberger anniversary memorials. All too young to have covered any grands prix at the track, we fell head over heels in love with the place within minutes of arrival and set about redesigning the calendar to accommodate additional races in Italy - the idea was to replace the lesser-loved European circuits with races in Imola, Fiorano, and Mugello, while keeping Monza.
These days, with the loss of France and this year's missing German Grand Prix, no race is safe on historic grounds, nor of being home to an integral part of F1's fanbase. Empty seats at the Italian Grand Prix have been on the increase in recent years, and Monza has long since struggled to make the books balance.
Ongoing contractual negotiations are progressing slowly, and while Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne has offered to intervene to ensure Monza's future, Bernie Ecclestone this week met with the mayor of Imola to discuss the future of the Italian round.
Perhaps, in the current financial climate, Europe cannot sustain two races in a single country. Ticket sales for this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix are said to be sluggish despite the loss of the neighbouring German race - last year's record sales are but a distant memory.
Monza and Imola are less than three hours apart by car, and the Italian economy is still in recovery mode, with unemployment falling to 12.4 percent in April 2015. Sustaining two races a year would be a big ask, even for the passionate tifosi - in order to have both Monza and Imola on the calendar, an alternation deal may be on the cards.
According to Italy's Leo Turrini, a man who has eaten more meals in Maranello than most of us have eaten in our lives, one plan on the table to safeguard the future of the Italian Grand Prix is a three-way alternation deal involving Monza, Imola, and Mugello.
It may not be the Italy-focussed European calendar of our indulgent imaginings, but if a little bit of variety is what it will take to ensure that Formula One keeps on returning to Italy, so be it. Some races are to be endured, while others are enjoyed. Italy is glorious, frustrating, and magnificent. Long may it remain so.