If motor sport-crazy Italy needed any excuse to make a case for a second grand prix every year, then the tiny principality of San Marino is the solution. The circuit, located in parkland and dedicated to the Ferrari dynasty, was originally a power track but safety calls, following the double tragedies of 1994, brought chicanes and revisions to a number of areas.

The circuit opened in 1952 as a flowing track charging through the vineyards and countryside, hosting mainly sports car and motorcycle events in early seasons before staging a non-championship F1 race in 1979.