LONDON – Formula One raced through the pandemic and has overcome typhoons and earthquakes, but the cancellation of this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix due to torrential rain and flooding in northern Italy is a rare defeat.
With little flexibility on a crowded calendar that started off with a record 24 rounds, and now likely to end up with 22, the race at Imola is unlikely to find another slot this season.
But with a contract through 2025, the circuit is in no immediate danger of being dropped. It enjoys strong support from Ferrari and Imola is also the birthplace of F1’s chief executive Stefano Domenicali, who worked at the track in his youth.
Local organisers have indicated they will seek an extension to 2026 to compensate for the loss, but the fallout from the extreme weather could make the longer-term future less secure, particularly if flooding becomes more frequent in an age of global warming.
Italy is the only European country with two races and Imola stands out by being next to a waterway.
The Santerno river that flows alongside the circuit adds much to the old-school charm but it is also an immovable boundary, restricting what can be done in the way of expansion and modernisation.
The death of triple world champion Ayrton Senna at the circuit in 1994 triggered important revisions but the paddock remains cramped and narrow in comparison with palatial facilities in the Middle East and Americas.
With pressure on all sports to reduce their carbon footprints, F1 wants to group an expanding number of races by region in future and that limits the “weather window”.
The four rounds in the Middle East can be held only early in the season or at the end to avoid peak temperatures, while European races are traditionally run from May to the Italian GP at Monza in September.
There have been exceptions, with the 2000 British GP held in April when torrential rain turned the car parks into quagmires and shut out tens of thousands of spectators, and the southern hemisphere hosted races in January decades ago.
Organising the calendar, with some races insisting on fixed dates and the sport keen to avoid clashes with other major events, is no easy matter.
Pandemic aside, cancellations have been rare and weather-related ones even scarcer with the sport having established protocols to change the schedule in the event of adverse conditions.
In rain-soaked Belgium in 2021, that meant completing only two laps behind the safety car, making it the shortest race ever.
The 2011 Bahrain GP was cancelled after pro-democracy protests and subsequent crackdown, while the 1985 Belgian GP had to be rescheduled after the track surface disintegrated.
The 1995 Pacific GP at Japan’s Aida circuit was shifted from April to October due to an earthquake and typhoons have long affected the country’s race at Suzuka, with qualifying for the 2004 race postponed to the Sunday.
Half points were awarded in Malaysia in 2009 when torrential rain halted the race at Sepang.
The United States GP at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas has also dealt with heavy rainfall and floods in the past while snow fell overnight during the October 1976 US GP in Watkins Glen.
The future of the Imola race remains to be seen but in the meantime, F1 has said that it will donate €1 million (S$1.45 million) to support communities affected by the flooding.
The sport said in a statement the money would be donated to the region’s Agency for Territorial Safety and Civil Protection.
“We must do everything we can to support them at this difficult time and that is why we are donating to help support the relief efforts on the ground,” said Domenicali.
“My thoughts, on behalf of the entire Formula One community, are with everyone affected.”
REUTERS
