Oscar Piastri highlights growing F1 concern: 'We need to be careful'

Oscar Piastri has issued a warning to F1 has he hopes to avoid seeing iconic tracks drop from the calendar.

F1 heads to Imola for the seventh round of the championship this weekend, for what could be the event's final appearance on the calendar.

The circuit, which returned to F1 in the COVID-stricken 2020 season, sees its contract expire at the end of the current campaign.

Recent confirmed venue changes include Zandvoort exiting the schedule after the 2026 season and Spa-Francorchamps switching to a rotational system.

Imola is one of two Italian races on the F1 schedule, with Piastri acknowledging there is little reason to both amid vast worldwide interest in hosting a race.

“It’s a great circuit,” Piastri told media including RacingNews365. “I've only raced here once, but it's definitely towards the top end of my favourites.

“Having two races in the same country with how many bids we have around the world for other races, maybe it doesn't make that much sense anymore.

“When you have Monza as your second race in Italy, it's pretty hard not to go to Monza. There would be some riots if we didn't go there.

“We just need to be careful to preserve the history. Obviously, Zandvoort is going, Spa is going to be on a rotation, which I'm not the happiest about.”

While Imola does not traditionally produce the most exciting races, Piastri stated it is an exceptional track for the drivers to experience over a hot lap.

“We just need to be careful not to lose all of these historical tracks because maybe it [Imola] is not the best to race around, it's not the best [for] overtaking,” he added.

“But the ultimate experience of driving an F1 car, this is definitely towards the top of the list.

“So we need to just be mindful not to get rid of that.”