Emilia-Romagna GP in Italy canceled due to flooding in the region

He Emilia-Romagna Grand Prixsixth round of the World Cup Formula 1which was to be held from Friday to Sunday at the famous Imola circuit, “will not take place this weekend” due to the floods that caused at least five deaths in that region of Italy, the organizers announced on Wednesday.

After the talks between Formula Onethe president of the federation International of the Carthe competent authorities, including the affected ministers, the president of the Italian Automobile Club, the president of the Emilia-Romagna region, the mayor of the city and the promoter, the decision was made that the Grand Prix will not take place in Ímola,” F1 promoter Formula One announced in a statement, without specifying whether the race will be rescheduled between now and the end of the season.

“This decision was taken because it was not possible to organize the event in complete safety for our fans, our teams and our staff. It is a responsible decision due to the situation in the cities and towns of the region. It would not be fair to increase the pressure on local authorities and intervention services in a difficult period”, continues the text.

Quoted in the statement, the Italian Stefano Domenicali, general director of Formula One, defined as “a tragedy to see what was happening in Ímola and in Emilia-Romagna, the city and region where I grew up.”

Since the beginning of the week, waterspouts have fallen on the region and the floods have caused at least five deaths and thousands of evacuees, authorities announced Wednesday.

Activities in the paddock, for their part, were suspended on Tuesday and the staff present were advised to leave the place as a precaution given the worrying rise in the level of a nearby watercourse.

This Wednesday, the organizers initially asked the teams and journalists not to go to the circuit, before canceling the test.

Although the asphalt itself is not flooded, the circuit site is flooded in several places, as the photos of journalists on the ground attest.

He Emilia-Romagna GP It was going to mean the return of Formula 1 to Europe and the first “triple header” (three GPs in three weeks) of the season, before the GPs of Monaco y spain.

In the general classification of the World Cup, the Dutchman Max Verstappencurrent double world champion, is the leader with 14 points ahead of his Mexican teammate from Red Bull, Sergio Pérez.