Red tide sweeps Milan as Ferrari and Italian GP mark 90th anniversary

A red tide swept through the centre of Milan on Wednesday as up to 10,000 Ferrari fans crammed into the city's Piazza Duomo to mark the 90th anniversary of both the Formula One team and the Italian Grand Prix in Monza.

The race will remain on the calendar until 2024, after the signing of a contract renewal in front of an ecstatic crowd in the city's famed cathedral square.

Formula One chairman Chase Carey and FIA president Jean Todt joined Italian Automobile Club (ACI) president Angelo Sticchi Damiani on the red-carpeted stage to announce Monza was safe until "at least 2024".

"It was not easy but in the end we reached an agreement and now we can say with serenity that the Grand Prix at Monza will be there until 2024," said Damiani.

"I could not be happier with this announcement," said Carey.

"Because there are so many other races on the Formula One calendar, but there is only one Monza and only one Italian audience." F1 has held a GP in Italy since the championship began in 1950, and the race has been run at Monza every year bar 1980, when it was held at Imola.

The 2019 event takes place on Sunday following Ferrari's win in Belgium, with Charles Leclerc winning his first Grand Prix on a sombre occasion at Spa-Francorchamps following the death of his friend and F2 driver Anthoine Hubert.

The Italian team are tipped to win on home turf in front of its army of passionate fans.

- 'Strong emotion' -
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