Rome's mayor Gianni Alemanno has announced his city is taking "a step back" from its plans for a Formula One race on the streets of the EUR district.
Last week F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone wrote to Alemanno warning that F1 had no room for two Italian rounds per season. Race organiser Maurizio Flammini interpreted this as the start of negotiations to annually alternate Rome and Monza, but Alemanno has announced that the city should now turn its focus towards bidding for the 2020 Olympics.
"The road has not been completely closed, but the interests of our city must be compatible with the national ones," he is quoted in La Repubblica. Regarding F1, Rome will "take a step back", Alemanno added, revealing that there "will be a press conference in the coming days".
He called on the government to make a "stronger commitment regarding the 2020 Olympics", insisting that the event "as a target for Rome is not just ambitious but achievable".
Alemanno said that talks with Monza about alternating between the two venues has not been successful.
"We have always maintained contact with the mayor of Monza, with the ministers of the north and all those of the Lombardy region. I have to say that we never found a great dialogue, even when we stressed that if it was a choice between Monza and Rome then we would pull back."
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