F1 supremo, Bernie Ecclestone, has hinted that the Italian Grand Prix may not be staged at Monza after the 2016 season.

Monza has hosted the Italian Grand Prix every year aside from when the race went to Imola in 1980 but Ecclestone is unhappy with the current set-up and has suggested that renewal is unlikely when the current Monza contract expires.

“I don’t think we’ll do another contract, the old one was a disaster for us from a commercial point of view. After 2016, bye bye,” Ecclestone said of Monza to Gazzetta dello Sport.

His comments around Monza follow a dramatic drop in Formula One television viewership in Italy which he feels may be due to Ferrari’s lack lustre performances.

“TV ratings are lower in Italy than they are elsewhere,” he said. “TV channels have split with digital broadcasting, and there’s also Twitter, Facebook and other communication means, so young people are more distracted.

“How can Italian ratings be improved? If Ferrari started to finish first and second in qualifying and races… TV ratings would improve everywhere. Ferrari is a worldwide passion.”

Ferrari, more than any other team, would hope to keep their home race at Monza. The track is also a favourite with the Tifosi and F1 fans worldwide. Perhaps Bernie is trying to stir things up at Ferrari a little and push for better performance from the team.

Should Monza be unable to put in place a financial package that better suits Ecclestone, Mugello has been suggested as an alternative. Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, whose company owns the track, has talked about wanting the Italian GP switched there.

But Ecclestone has stated that there have been no discussions about that as yet.