Emilia Romagna Grand Prix could be CANCELLED after Imola evacuated due to flood risks
The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix may be CANCELED due to extreme weatherā¦ after Imola was evacuated due to flooding risks a few days before the race weekend
- 100 mm of precipitation is expected to fall in the region before Wednesday evening
- The circuit is perilously close to the banks of the surging Santerno River
- The extreme weather will continue throughout the race weekend, including high winds
Sunday’s Emilia Romagna grand prix could be threatened with cancellation after staff were forced to evacuate the paddock in Imola due to flooding risks.
The northern Italian region was hit by heavy rain and flooding in May and was issued a red weather alert as the rain and wind were expected to continue.
Heavy rain is forecast every day this week except Thursday – with the race weekend starting on Friday – and Italy’s Met Office also issued landslide warnings for Tuesday and Wednesday.
The circuit itself is on the banks of the River Santerno, the level of which is rising rapidly, and if the banks were to break, the water would pour into the paddock.
From the sun, Staff working at the track on Tuesday were sent back to their hotels as the heads of the sport face a nerve-wracking wait to see if the much-anticipated event can go ahead as planned.
Imola was evacuated on Tuesday due to flood risks a few days before the Emilia Romagna GP
A photo shared on Twitter today (left) showed the waters of the Santerno rising dangerously close to the edge of the famous circuit – but the area has experienced flooding in May (right)
The region’s capital, Bologna, was pictured Tuesday afternoon preparing for flood risk
As much as 100mm of rain is predicted to fall in the region through Wednesday evening, where hundreds of residents have already been evacuated, local schools are closing and all essential travel is discouraged.
Formula 1 has said the race will go ahead as planned and there is hope television coverage of the event will not be affected by the extreme weather.
Coincidentally, Imola was already set to be the stage for the launch of a new Pirelli rain tire that does not require pre-warming.
Pirelli’s head of motor racing and F1, Mario Isola, said the new tires had shown ‘even better performance’ than the Cinturato Blue full wet tire currently in use.
“The result of studies carried out by Pirelli, it is the first collective step towards the use of dry tires without preheating,” added Isola.
The potential for weather delays couldn’t have come at a more difficult point on the F1 calendar, with Imola’s first grand prix of a run of three consecutive race weekends.
Whatever the weather, if the race goes ahead, Mercedes may regret that it’s not the ideal race weekend to show off their much-publicized upgrades to the W14.
Toto Wolff has advised his drivers to manage their expectations ahead of the Imola upgrades
It is unlikely that Red Bull will be affected by the adjustments after building a formidable lead
Toto Wolff first mentioned the manufacturer’s proposed upgrades to the car following a disappointing start to the season ahead of the Australian Grand Prix in March.
The Mercedes team boss has since tried to play down expectations, saying it was unlikely the upgrades would mean the car could “go in circles around Red Bull”.
It seems unlikely that last year’s Constructors’ champions will be challenged again this season as both world champion Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez can’t put a foot wrong.
Perez is just 14 points behind Verstappen at the top of the standings, with a gaping 30 points gap between the Mexican driver and the next closest contender, Fernando Alonso, who is third.