Emilia Romagna Grand Prix called off due to extreme flooding

Heavy rain has bombarded the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy throughout Tuesday and Wednesday, leading to extreme flooding.

While it is understood the F1 paddock and circuit itself has remained mostly unaffected, surrounding transport links and the local population have been severely impacted.

F1 announced the decision on Wednesday afternoon following discussions with the local authorities and promoter.

F1 confirmed that the race is unable to “proceed safely” and it wouldn’t be right to “burden” the community and emergency services in the area.

Speaking of the news, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said: “It is such a tragedy to see what has happened to Imola and Emilia Romagna, the town and region that I grew up in and my thoughts and prayers are with the victims of the flooding and the families and communities affected.

"I want to express my gratitude and admiration for the incredible emergency services who are working tirelessly to help those who need help and alleviate the situation – they are heroes and the whole of Italy is proud on them.

"The decision that has been taken is the right one for everyone in the local communities and the F1 family as we need to ensure safety and not create extra burden for the authorities while they deal with this very awful situation.”

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem added: “My thoughts and those of the entire FIA family are with those affected by the terrible situation in the Emilia Romagna region. The safety of everyone involved and recovery efforts are the top priority at this time.”

Crash.net understands that is very unlikely the race at Imola will be rescheduled later in the year due to an intense schedule, although it’s not been totally ruled out.

F1 2023 will resume next weekend for the Monaco Grand Prix.