According to sources in Italy, Rome have an agreement to run a Formula One race in the near future, in what would be another street race for the calendar, while meanwhile, the Turkish GP is the latest to feel Bernie Ecclestone's wrath.
The Rome authorities had been in discussions with Ecclestone about a street race through the Italian capital for some time, with organisers hoping to grab a spot on the calendar from 2012, though Ecclestone is believed to favour a 2013 start date.
Although no details of the event have been released, the Reuters news agency quoted Rome F1 organiser Maurizio Flammini as telling the local media that: "The agreement with...Bernie Ecclestone to bring the Rome grand prix to life has already been done and signed. The appropriate course still has to be defined."
Despite the new deal, the mayor of Rome insisted that the new street race would not threaten the future of the Italian GP at Monza, saying that there would be two standalone events in Italy once their deal began.
Gianni Alemanno, the mayor of Rome, stated that: "We think the Rome Grand Prix would be very important and we are in favour of it," he said. "And it's not true that it is an alternative to Monza. Monza is a grand prix on the circuit, and the grand prix of Rome is integrative to that of Monza, it's not a replacement.
"We have calculated that there will be an income of one billion euros a year with this grand prix and Rome needs to renew its tourist appeal. Not only the past, archaeology and monuments, but also the future, something which is aimed at families and youngsters."
The Rome GP would continue the trend of recent new F1 events, with street tracks now becoming bafflingly popular compared to bespoke race tracks.
Meanwhile, a potential spot on the calendar for the new Rome race could come by the loss of the Turkish GP after 2011.
According to the local Turkish press, Ecclestone has approached the race organisers in Turkey with a new deal that would see the cost of hosting the event double from the current $13.5 million to $26 million from 2011 onwards.
The Turkish event is already in trouble after failing to attract spectators in any significant quantity in recent years. Just 36,000 showed up for the 2009 event, despite the Istanbul Park track earning plaudits from the drivers and teams.
Ecclestone is believed to have given the Turkish authorities a deadline of the end of the year to make their final decision, in a spat that eerily calls to mind the similar recent spat between Ecclestone and the Silverstone circuit.
Responding to the money demands, a Turkish official was quoted as saying that compared to other races, the amount that Ecclestone was asking them to pay was far too high.
The official claimed that: "In countries such as France and Germany, the Formula One CEO is requesting something between $1.5 million and $4 million."
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