MOTORSPORT: Italy whets Ricciardo's appetite

While Daniel Ricciardo is struggling as he sees out his final months with Renault, he’s “very excited” at the prospect of three races this season in Italy, the country from which his family originated.

Not only will Italy host its traditional grand prix at Monza on the first weekend of September, but races have been added to the Formula 1 calendar at Mugello in Tuscany a week later and at Imola, long a GP venue until 2006, on November 1.

Germany’s Nurburgring is back on the calendar too, as well as a first GP at the Algarve circuit in Portugal – both in October.

F1 won’t go to the Americas in this pandemic-riddled year, with the Canadian, United States, Mexican and Brazilian GPs all cancelled.

The Australian GP was aborted just hours before practice was due to start in March, while Asia also is out this year, despite Vietnam still wanting a race at its new circuit.

F1 resumes with two races at Britain’s Silverstone next Sunday and the one after, then rounds at Barcelona in Spain and Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium before Monza.

After the first three races in Austria and Hungary this month, there are 10 more rounds on the calendar now, with Middle East races in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi in mid-December likely to make it 15 for the season – the minimum required under TV contracts.

Renault has not finished better than eighth in the races so far and Ricciardo was a lap down in Budapest.

But the thought of the extra races in Italy has enthused the carsales global ambassador ahead of his move next season to McLaren, which will switch from Renault power to the all-conquering Mercedes unit.

The event at Mugello, long home to the Italian MotoGP and owned by Ferrari, will be the 1000th in F1 for the sport’s most revered team.

Ferrari has often tested its cars there but this year isn’t challenging Mercedes after its mysterious settlement with the governing Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) over last year’s power unit.

Retired Australian F1 ace Mark Webber says the G-forces at the “very, very, very, very quick” Mugello will almost snap the necks of drivers, but nothing about it can daunt Ricciardo.

“That’s a circuit I raced on back in 2007 for the first time [in the junior Formula Renault] and it was my favourite circuit that season,” Ricciardo said.

“I love the flowing high-speed corners. F1 will be amazing there.

“We had a test there back in 2012 [with Scuderia Toro Rosso], but these 2020 cars around there will be insane.”

Imola has hosted 27 F1 races, usually called the San Marino GP despite that tiny principality being 100km south-west of the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari.

This time the event will be branded the Emilia Romagna GP.

Italy will be the only country to stage three GPs in one year other than the US, which had races at Long Beach, Detroit and Las Vegas in 1982.

While Imola will be new to Ricciardo, he has “good memories” of the Algarve track at Portimao in Portugal.

“It’s where I wrapped up an F3 championship [in 2009] and it was a circuit I really enjoyed,” he said.

“It has some good elevation and flowing corners.”

Meanwhile, ex-F1 driver, two-time CART champion in the US and four-time Paralympic handbike gold medallist Alex Zanardi has been returned to intensive care in Milan.

Zanardi, 53, had recently been transferred to a rehabilitation centre after a June accident in which his handbike was struck by a truck but his condition has deteriorated.