Can the Emilie-Romagne Grand Prix be rescheduled?
The Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, in Imola, was canceled following the floods. Currently, the FIA has not communicated about the rescheduling of this weekend, but the likelihood of the race being held at a later date is very low.
The news left little doubt, but it was officially confirmed by Stefano Domenicali this Wednesday afternoon: the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix will not take place. The floods caused by the heavy storms in the Bologna region, where the Enzo e Dino Ferrari circuit is located, led to the cancellation of the event.
The underwater route
Several parts of the track were underwater after the Santerno River, located next to the track, overflowed. The toll in the region is at least eight dead, several dozens injured, and thousands of people displaced and evacuated. That’s why Stefano Domenicali, the head of Formula 1 and a native of Imola, declared that he does not want to overload the emergency services that are already dealing with this terrible situation.
For now, the final fate of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix is not known. The weekend could still be rescheduled for a later date, although this is unlikely to happen. Before the summer break, no weekend is possible to host the World Championship as the teams would be obligated to have four consecutive Grand Prix.
A Grand Prix during the summer break?
Another solution could be considered, but it too would be difficult to implement. The summer break of the 2023 season takes place between the Belgian Grand Prix, from July 28th to 30th, and ends at the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort, from August 25th to 27th. Therefore, F1 could potentially settle in Imola during this period. However, the mandatory 14-day summer break, which requires the closure of team factories, would become too complex to accomplish.
After Zandvoort, there is only one Grand Prix left in the European tour, in Monza, Italy. But once again, if the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix were to be rescheduled after this round of the championship, the teams would have to endure four weeks of racing. Additionally, there would only be five short days between the end of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix and the start of free practice in Singapore, on the other side of the globe.
In short, it is highly unlikely that the Formula 1 World Championship will return to Imola this year due to the complexity of the calendar. Therefore, there will be 22 race weekends instead of 24, following the cancellations of the Chinese Grand Prix, initially scheduled in the calendar and canceled due to COVID, and the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, canceled due to floods.
