Is the Italian Grand Prix about to become the latest on the scrapheap?

Several conclusions emerged from this year’s raucous and sometimes confusing Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

The first is obvious - Lewis Hamilton is currently untouchable as he heads towards a third drivers’ world title.

The second nearly as clear - the image, and rulebook, of Formula One is in such a blurred state only a few serious afficionados can fully understand it.

The third is an enduring fact - Bernie Ecclestone remains a unique figure as a ruling entrepreneur, and survivor, in an era that now favours democratic consent, and transparency, over autocratic leadership.

The fourth, however, is more elusive and sad. Italy, it seems, is no longer a truly leading sports nation and appears unable to prevent its motor racing heritage, in particular, from crumbling into ruins.

Let’s take them in reverse order and see where it takes us, leaving the first two aside.

In Italy, Formula One has been a major sport since 1950, when the modern world championship began. The Italian Grand Prix has been a permanent fixture and Monza is synonymous with the event.

Thanks to Ferrari, and a long period when Italy hosted two Grands Prix (the San Marino Grand Prix took place at Imola), not to mention a succession of other Italian teams and some leading drivers, it was a sport followed by the Italian public with a nationalistic fervour. Ferrari was their team in the same way as the national football team, the Azzurri.

Now, whatever the outcome of some protracted public negotiations between Ecclestone, the commercial ringmaster of his sport and its major individual player for more than 40 years, and the Monza management and promoters, there is no certainty that such status will continue.

As Ecclestone guides his sport business towards an increasingly global calendar with reduced racing in Europe, the famous and historic Italian event has not only lost some of its financial lustre, it has also seen its crowds reduced.

And like two other classic European events on the traditional F1 calendar – the French and German Grands Prix – it looks as if it may be struggling to retain its place, much to the horror of the tifosi, who have given the event its unique atmosphere and passion.

To many, an F1 calendar without a race in France, Germany or Italy is unacceptable and unfathomable, but it is a clear reflection of our times. Once a European spectator sport, with the Indianapolis 500 thrown in to spice things up, it has been re-designed under Ecclestone’s stewardship to become almost the definitive television sports business event.

Where once a 16-race calendar held 11 Grands Prix in Europe and five beyond, the sport’s programme has expanded to 19 races this year of which only seven take place on European soil. Next year, the calendar is expected to accommodate 21 races with a new event in Azerbaijan and a possible return to Germany, but many insiders believe it will not be long before Europe is reduced to only five events.

Why? Firstly, the sheer cost of buying a race from Ecclestone’s organisation, but also a paucity of good hotels, a lack of nearby tourism attractions or fashionable cities (Milan excepted) and the ancient habit of being sited in dense countryside that often makes access, difficult. Yes, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone has survived, but only after making huge investments into a long-term commitment. The modern F1 spectator is not always a local, but often someone who wants to combine travel and tourism with an event. A convenient and comfortable airport with easy access to a big city and major entertainment is the norm — think Melbourne, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai and Singapore to start with.

This switch of emphasis has come in the face of warnings from many of the sport’s most distinguished and venerable figures. “The French started motorsport, with races held in France,” said Sir Jackie Stewart who, at Monza, 50 years ago, drove to victory for BRM.

“Germany has Mercedez-Benz, Porsche and so forth. They both have a great history. I’m sad because history is very important. You learn a lot from history. It is tradition we need…I believe it would be very negative for Formula One and motorsport in general if Monza could not put a deal together, with a possible compromise on one side or the other.

“No matter where you are in the world, if you say the word Monza, it comes to everyone’s mind what it is - it’s the home of the Italian Grand Prix. The charisma of Monza and the passion of the crowd is in excess of any other grand prix in the world.”

That enthusiasm is purely Italian, of course. Yet, as time has passed, it has become less definitive, less essential, to the Ecclestone plan, and just as France and Germany were disposable, it may seem unthinkable, but tradition, history and atmosphere, contrary to the emotional outpourings of Sebastian Vettel and others, do not gain much traction in the decision-making processes of modern sport.

Just as football treasures its famous old teams, clubs and stadia, but has created the bloated monster of a 32-team World Cup and the cash-cow of the Champions League, so other sport has to follow. And Italy, in this scenario, has no more to offer than other European countries struggling to survive the impact of new world nations with strong economies – notably in Asia and the Middle East.

The global television audience is a new driving factor here and time zones are a part of that calculation. China may be enduring a slump, but it remains the most important new and growing market for all sports, which explains why so many major football clubs go there for promotional activity and tours.

Notably, too, there were no Italian drivers on the grid at Monza and it is a matter of many decades since an Italian driver won his home event in a Ferrari. The romance remains, but it is unfulfilled and television viewers need new story lines, fresh dramas and a different kind of context.

Italy hosted the World Cup in 1990, but is no longer regarded as possessing the stadia or the infrastructure to bid again. Who is the last great Italian male tennis player? Or goalscorer? Setting aside the brilliance of Valentino Rossi, Federica Pellegrini in swimming and Flavia Pennetta in tennis have shone, but only the courage of Ivan Basso, who pulled out of this year’s Tour de France after being diagnosed with testicular cancer, can claim to have achieved true world notice. And their successes have, it seems, been in spite of, and not because of, the current level of support and organisation in Italian sport. The individuals and the passion is there, but the cash, the organisation and the status have drifted away.

And, so, to Ecclestone. He is approaching his 85th birthday, yet remains a formidable and innovative force. Remarkably, too, he retains the energy and imagination needed to realise what is needed and then to make sure it is done. Italy, many thought, had a man out of the same mould in Luca di Montezmolo, groomed to be his successor by Enzo Ferrari, but as the Fiat-Ferrari brand has grown and gone ever more corporate, his individuality and flair has been left behind.

And that means, there is no obvious successor to Ecclestone on the assembly line just as there is no obvious new direction for Italian sport, in general, and motor racing, in particular. Juventus may have reached the European Cup final last season, but their league, Serie A, has lost its wealth, crowds and reputation – and with them, the ability it once had to attract the world’s greatest players: John Charles, Denis Law, Jimmy Greaves, Michel Platini, Ian Rush, Zbigniew Boniek, Zico and Diego Maradona among them.

This reflects an economic decline. Just as the Monza circuit has struggled to raise the funds needed to keep the Italian Grand Prix, so Serie A and its clubs have struggled to modernize and adapt to the age. Italy’s place among the great sporting nations requires some serious repair work, a few flights of imagination and proper restructuring, and it may take some time.