The torrential rains that have ravaged northern Italy for the past two days forced the cancellation of the Emilia-Romagna Formula 1 Grand Prix, which was due to be held at the Imola circuit on Sunday.
Those in charge of Formula 1 and the International Automobile Federation made the decision early Wednesday morning after an emergency meeting attended by ministers, the president of the Italian Automobile Club and, in particular, the mayor of the city of Imola.
The day before the region was on red alert and the Imola paddock had been evacuated due to flooding while teams were busy preparing.
The bad weather has claimed five lives so far, but that number could be revised upwards, according to the relevant authorities.
“The extraordinary circumstances have justified our decision. “It was no longer possible to organize this event in complete safety,” reads the F1 press release.
towards Monaco
The Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix was the first European stop of the World Championships this year and marked the first of three events in three weeks.
The F1 circus now travels to Monaco (May 28) and Barcelona (June 4) before crossing the Atlantic ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix on June 18.
Everything indicates that the Emilia-Romagna GP, which was supposed to be round six of the season, will simply be canceled and the event could be pushed back to 2026, a year after the end of the current contract.
The 2023 calendar will therefore only include 22 instead of the originally planned 24 races. Even before the start of the season, the Chinese Grand Prix (scheduled for April 16) had been canceled due to government health concerns.