Valtteri Bottas has suggested he and his Formula One rivals could boycott a return to Imola in December if it is proposed to them. F1 face being forced to move the final rounds of the season, currently scheduled to take place in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, due to the ongoing war in the Middle East. Imola, a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, is a potential venue for a rearranged race.
But Bottas says neither he nor any of his fellow drivers "really want to race in Italy", where they are all currently under investigation. The Guardia di Finanza, the Italian police force that fights financial crime, were earlier this year inspecting whether F1 teams based outside of the country had evaded tax. Italian laws treat F1 drivers as self-employed workers, which means any income generated in their country is subject to local taxation laws.
Tax investigation and potential sanctions
F1 teams are required to withhold part of their drivers' salaries to pay to the Italian authorities. Those found guilty of tax evasion face serious sanctions, including prison terms and huge fines. It is unlikely any F1 figures will spend time in jail but the tax agency is pursuing all the money that has not been paid. All drivers are said to have received a letter asking them to pay at least 50 per cent of the tax that had not been collected over the last seven years.
And Cadillac driver Bottas said on the idea of returning to Imola: "Not a big fan because, yeah, I've heard about the weather normally around that time of the year. The fog in the mornings, the early sunsets, low temperatures.
"And, also, I don't know if you've heard about the Italian taxes? No driver wants to really race in Italy because of recent events, what happened.
"Yeah, Abu Dhabi, there's no tax. Right? I think everyone would like to race somewhere warmer. For now, what I've heard, we're still going to Qatar and Abu Dhabi."
Drivers' views on potential venue change
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton similarly hopes the venues of the season-ending races are not changed. The seven-time world champion said: "I personally want to go. I love going to the Middle East. From what I have read, things seem OK out there, but I don't have all the information and I don’t know what the risk levels are.
"I trust in [F1 chief executive] Stefano [Domenicali] to make the right decision for the sport. And I do hope we get to go there."
While Red Bull's Max Verstappen said: "I always really enjoy going to those countries. But when you know that war is very close by and some countries might be in conflict with each other, I don't think you should go there.
"It doesn't matter whether there's a contract or not; that's my personal opinion. But it's not up to me."
Asked about the idea of racing in Imola, Verstappen added: "That'll be chaos with our rain tyres, I think. But I'm actually fine with that. It's a fun track, of course."
