Formula 1 finds itself in a difficult position for the organization of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prixsince the possibility of canceling the activity on the track has been opened due to the fheavy rains and the possible overflow of the Santerno river, for which the personnel of all the teams were evacuated.
The Imola circuit is located next to the Santero Riverwhich has reached its limit capacity, and storms are still expected for Tuesday May 16 and Wednesday May 17, for which the organizers of the Formula 1 Grand Prix are concerned about a possible overflow of the river.
Two weeks before other storms were recorded, which left at least two people deceased, one after being swept away by strong currents of water and another after the house in which she lived collapsed, for which reason the Emilia-Romagna region has declared a state of emergency.
Las authorities in the region have asked the population to avoid moving through the streets, for which schools and roads will be closed, in addition to asking companies to let employees do remote work.
What about the rains and the Imola Grand Prix in Emilia Romagna?
Tuesday May 16 All the people working in the paddock for the Grand Prix were evacuated. This staff is in charge of conditioning the place both in the hospitalitys and in each of the garages, for which the process of assembling the paddock will be delayed.
OK with Albert Fabregaone of the most renowned journalists in Formula 1, heavy rains are expected on the night of May 16 and on the morning of May 17 and it will be until Wednesday afternoon when the intensity of the rain decreases.
If the Santerno river overflows it will complicate work in the paddock as well as on the trackso Formula 1 would have to assess the damage and the conditions of the place to carry out the Grand Prix under certain protocols or cancel this date outright.
All workers have received the indication of not attend the paddock area on Wednesday May 17.
Can the Imola Grand Prix in Emilia Romagna be cancelled?
So far, the Grand Prix still stands. Formula 1 expected rain for the dates of the Grand Prix, so it also had contemplated that the activity in Imola would be interrupted at certain times, but I did not expect a situation as serious as this.
In this situation there is speculation about a possible cancellation of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix due to the weather conditions, something that Formula 1 does not usually do. In 2021 the Belgian Grand Prix was held despite heavy rain. On that occasion the free practices were carried out and the session was qualified, but the race was canceled after an embarrassing protocol.
In almost three hours, the race was canceled after the cars did three laps on the circuit, but at the end of the day the Grand Prix took place and even points were distributed to the pilots.
The last Grand Prix canceled with all the teams in place was that of Australia 2020 due to the first cases of COVID in the paddock, just at the beginning of the global pause due to the pandemic.
Can the Grand Prix be postponed?
Postponing the Imola Grand Prix is not really an option for Formula 1since there are already contracted services to transfer cars and other materials, as well as personnel, to the next venue on the calendar, which is Monaco, even from the Sunday after the race in Emilia-Romagna.
Postpone the Grand Prix one day so that lThe race takes place on Monday implies more expenses than canceling the GP. In any case, free practice could be dispensed with and, in the worst case, the qualifying session could be carried out on the day of the race, as long as the teams and drivers agree.
