‘Cancelling Imola race was the right thing to do’

The cancellation of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola on the eve of the weekend came as the region suffered catastrophic floods, in which rivers burst their banks, roads collapsed, landslides brought down trees and at least nine people lost their lives. Around 10,000 were evacuated from their homes and many were rescued by helicopters from rooftops.

The Formula 1 teams had already begun constructing their bases there on the preceding Tuesday when the circuit issued an emergency instruction for all personnel to evacuate the track immediately. When the heavy rain continued into Wednesday and the local infrastructure began to collapse under the strain, there was no alternative: the event had to be cancelled.

The official confirmation arrived early on Wednesday afternoon: “The decision has been taken because it is not possible to safely hold the event for our fans, the teams and our personnel and it is the right and responsible thing to do given the situation faced by the towns and cities in the region. It would not be right to put further pressure on the local authorities and emergency services at this difficult time.”

All teams and drivers were in full support of the race cancellation, with Max Verstappen speaking for everyone when he said, “Safety and help for the people who really need it is the most important thing. That’s where care should go first. So it seems only logical to me that we don’t race at times like this.”

It is not expected that the event will be re-run this year, given how tight the remaining Formula 1 schedule is.