The Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix “will not take place this weekend”, because of the floods which killed at least five people in this region of Italy, the organizers announced on Wednesday. The sixth round of the Formula 1 championship was to be held from Friday to Sunday at the Imola circuit.
“Following discussions between Formula One, the president of the International Automobile Federation, the competent authorities, including the ministers concerned, the president of the Italian Automobile Club, the president of the Emilia-Romagna region, the mayor of the city and the promoter, the decision has been taken that the Grand Prix will not take place at Imola,” announced F1 promoter Formula One, in a press releasewithout specifying whether the race would be rescheduled by the end of the season.
The paddock evacuated on Tuesday
“This decision was made because it was not possible to hold the event safely for our fans, teams and staff. It is a responsible decision given the situation in the towns and villages of the region. It would not be right to increase the pressure on local authorities and intervention services in a difficult period, ”continues the text.
Quoted in the press release, the Italian Stefano Domenicali, CEO of Formula One, considered that “it was a tragedy to see what was happening in Imola and in Emilia-Romagna, the city and the region where I grew up”. . Since the beginning of the week, downpours have been falling on the region and the floods have at least five dead and thousands evacuated, authorities said on Wednesday. Activities in the paddock were suspended on Tuesday and the staff on site were asked to evacuate in the afternoon as a precaution, due to the worrying rise in the level of a river near the paddock. .
The enclosure is under water
On Wednesday, the organizers initially asked teams and journalists not to go to the circuit, before canceling the event. If the track itself is not flooded, the enclosure of the circuit is, in several places, under water according to the photos of journalists present on the spot.
The Emilia-Romagna GP was to mark the return of Formula 1 to Europe and mark the first “triple header” (three GPs in three weeks) of the season, before the Monaco and Spanish GPs. In the general classification of the championship, Max Verstappen, double world champion in title, is leader with 14 points ahead of Sergio Pérez, his teammate at Red Bull.