Imola GP called off

The Imola Grand Prix in Italy has been called off due to safety concerns as widespread flooding and torrential rains affect the Emilia-Romagna region.

With the Santerno River banks near bursting, which flank the famous Italian track, organisers have made the call after having had the teams evacuated from the paddock and pits on Tuesday.

So far eight people have tragically lost their lives in the flood with thousands of people having been evacuated from the homes.

The rainfall figures in the region from the previous few days were recorded as 200mm (7.8 inches) to 500mm (19.6 inches), compared with the average annual rainfall of 1,000mm (39.3 inches).

Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1, explained that the decision was the right call to make for the sake of the region.

“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,” Domenicali explained.

“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 of 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.”

This means that the bumper 23 round season that the FIA had planned will now be cut to 22 rounds, whilst the same goes for the Formula 2 and the Formula 3 categories that were also due to race at Imola.

The next F1 round will now be in Monaco on May 26-28, which the F2 and F3 will also compete at.

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