The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, which was scheduled to take place this week in Imola, has been canceled by Formula 1 due to the area’s persistent bad weather and severe flooding.
The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola has been canceled as a result of additional heavy rain and floods in the area, with assistance now being given to those who have been tragically affected.
Northern Italy is experiencing the wrath of nature for the second time in two weeks, with the Emilia Romagna region being the worst-affected. Devastating floods and landslides have left several people dead and hundreds homeless.
A total of fifteen local rivers overflowed their banks, and the Santerno canal, which runs next to the Imola track, rose to dangerously high levels that put the F1 paddock in danger.
It was still possible, though, for Imola to host the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, which was slated to be Round 6 of the 2023 F1 season.
But heavy rain tragically returned in the days before the race, which forced a precautionary evacuation of all F1 employees from the circuit on Tuesday as water levels in the paddock rose as race preparations were underway.
Matteo Salvini, the transport minister and deputy prime minister of Italy, requested the postponement of the race on Wednesday morning so that the country may focus on relief work in the area.
The paddock was then made a no-go area on Wednesday, according to Racetrackmasters.com. Some Alpine team members in Imola were reportedly forced to leave their hotel, and some AlphaTauri staff members left their residences and went to work in their nearby Faenza factory.
The fate of the race weekend was the topic of serious deliberation among Formula 1 authorities on Wednesday morning, and it has now been decided that the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix won’t take place as scheduled.
“The Formula 1 community wants to send its thoughts to the people and communities affected by the recent events in the Emilia-Romagna region,” a statement from F1 read. “We also want to pay tribute to the work of the emergency services who are doing everything they can to help those in need.
“Following discussions between Formula 1, the president of the FIA, the competent authorities including the relevant ministers, the president of the Automobile Club of Italy, the president of Emilia Romagna region, the Mayor of the City and the promoter, the decision has been taken not to proceed with the Grand Prix weekend in Imola.
“The decision has been taken because it is not possible to safely hold the event for our fans, the teams and our personnel and it is the right and responsible thing to do given the situation faced by the towns and cities in the region. It would not be right to put further pressure on the local authorities and emergency services at this difficult time.”
