April 15 (Reuters) - Formula One boss Stefano Domenicali has indicated his home race of Imola could drop off the calendar with Italy unlikely to retain two grands prix on a bulging 24-round schedule with plenty of candidates.

"Italy has always been and will be an important part of Formula One," the Italian told RAI radio.

"It will be increasingly difficult to have two races in the same country because interest in F1 is growing and it's a situation we will have to deal with in the coming months," he added.

"It's hard for this situation with Imola and Monza to continue together on the calendar for long."

A native of Imola, whose race is designated the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, the former Ferrari boss said it would not be an easy decision from a personal point of view but he had to take a global approach.

Imola returned to the F1 calendar during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and has kept its place, although the 2023 race was cancelled due to flooding that devastated the region.

Monza, home of the Italian Grand Prix, has been on the calendar every year since the first championship in 1950, with the sole exception of 1980, and is the spiritual home of Ferrari. It has a contract to 2031.

No other country in Europe has two races, although Spain is due to have an overlap next season with Madrid coming in as the new Spanish Grand Prix venue when Barcelona will be in the final year of its contract.

The Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort has already announced it will not continue after 2026.

The United States has three races and there has been talk of China having a second. Thailand is also in talks for a round from 2028 and the sport wants to return to Africa.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Christian Radnedge)

((alan.baldwin@thomsonreuters.com; +442075427933;))