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From The Athletic
F1’s Emilia Romagna GP cancelled due to flooding in Italy
By Luke Smith
Formula One has cancelled this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola due to severe flooding in the area. Here’s everything you need to know:
• Heavy rain and flooding around Imola meant the paddock had to be evacuated as a precaution on Tuesday, and remained closed to all F1 team personnel on Wednesday.
• Photos from the circuit showed the Formula 2 and Formula 3 paddock were severely flooded, while roads going to the track from the east had been flooded.
• Discussions between F1 and the local authorities led to the race being cancelled on Wednesday due to safety concerns, and the extra burden it would place on local services.
What F1 said on Wednesday
“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,” read a statement from F1.
“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.”
Backstory
The Emilia Romagna region has been suffering from severe flooding after unprecedented rainfall in the past two weeks, forcing more than 5,000 people to be evacuated and claiming three lives.
The extreme weather showed no sign of easing when the first F1 personnel arrived early this week to begin setting up the various hospitality units and paddock infrastructure.
Concerns about flooding from the Santerno river next to the circuit led to the F1 paddock being evacuated on Tuesday as a precaution, before remaining shut on Wednesday while further discussions took place.
Ahead of the official announcement, Italy’s deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini called for the race to be called off so the focus could be placed on the relief effort. Alerts have been given to those in the worst-affected areas to move up to higher
ground if possible. Parts of the nearby town of Faenza, where the AlphaTauri is located, are underwater due to the flooding, although the team’s factory is unaffected.
“It is such a tragedy to see what has happened to Imola and Emilia Romagna, the town and region that I grew up in and my thoughts and prayers are with the victims of the flooding and the families and communities affected,” said F1 CEO Stefano
Domenicali.
“I want to express my gratitude and admiration for the incredible emergency services who are working tirelessly to help those who need help and alleviate the situation – they are heroes and the whole of Italy is proud on them.
“The decision that has been taken is the right one for everyone in the local communities and the F1 family as we need to ensure safety and not create extra burden for the authorities while they deal with this very awful situation.”
It is the first time that an F1 race has been called off due to severe weather. The most recent race to be called off so close to its scheduled date was the Australian Grand Prix in 2020, which was cancelled hours before practice was due to begin as the
Covid-19 pandemic shut down sport across the world.
What happens next for F1?
The focus for those in Imola will be to safely take down any of the paddock infrastructure that had been put up prior to the evacuation. This will be taken by road to Monaco, which will host the next grand prix on May 28.
Although Thursday is forecast to be dry at Imola, heavy rain is set to return across Friday, Saturday and Sunday when track running was due to take place.
Finding another date for Imola’s race to take place this year will be evaluated, but F1 faces a significant challenge to make it happen due to the congested schedule.
Between now and the start of F1’s summer break at the end of July, there are just three free weekends. But placing Imola in any of those gaps would create some lengthier runs of races that are unlikely to be viable for F1.
After the summer break, F1 will host two more European races — the Dutch Grand Prix and the Italian Grand Prix — before a run of events across Asia, the Americas and the Middle East to close out the season.
It therefore looks unlikely a place can be found for Imola to rejoin the schedule this year, meaning the 2023 calendar looks set to drop to 22 races.
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