The 2023 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix (officially the Formula 1 Qatar Airways and Rolex Gran Premio del Made in Italy e dell’Emilia-Romagna) would have been the sixth round of the 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship, held at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on the weekend of May 19 to May 21 2023. On 17 May, Formula One management announced the cancellation of the race due to floods in the region.
Background[]
Qualifying format and tyre rule changes[]
The Grand Prix was set to be the first of two to trial a new qualifying format that mandates specific tyre compounds. During the first segment, drivers would have used the hard compound, mediums during the second, and softs during the third. In addition, teams would have only had 11 sets of tyres for the race weekend rather than 13 as part of an initiative to help the sport become more environmentally friendly.[1]
Championship standings before the race[]
Max Verstappen led the World Drivers' Championship with 109 points, 1 point ahead of his teammate Sergio Pérez in second, and 4 ahead of Fernando Alonso in third. Red Bull Racing, with 666 points, led the Constructors' Championship from Aston Martin and Mercedes, who are second and third with 333 and 234 points, respectively.[2]
As the race was cancelled, these standings would carry over to the next Monaco Grand Prix.
Track Changes[]
The only DRS detection zone had been pushed further back between the middle between Turns 15-16 instead of after the speed trap.
Rain, floods and subsequent cancellation[]
- Further information: 2023 Emilia-Romagna floods
Heading into the weekend, the Italian Protezione Civile issued a weather red alert for the Emilia-Romagna region, where the race would be held; the region had been affected by heavy rain, which led to floods and landslides. On 16 May 2023, all Formula One personnel were instructed to leave the paddock, citing precautionary steps after a rise in water level at the nearby Santerno river was reported.[3][4] Due to the heavy rain observed throughout the week before the race and after several rumours the day before, the Italian ministry called for the race to be postponed.[5][6] Parts of the track were later seen to be flooded, after the announcement of the cancellation.[7]
Ultimately, the race would not go ahead as scheduled; an official statement from Formula One stated that the decision was made as it was not possible to safely hold the event for our fans, the teams and our personnel, and to lighten the load on local emergency services as they had already been pressured due to the storm damage.[8][9]
References[]
Images and Videos:
References:
- ↑ Noble, Jonathan (4 March 2023). "Imola earmarked for first F1 qualifying experiment". https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/imola-earmarked-for-first-f1-qualifying-experiment/10439379/. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ↑ "Miami 2023 – Championship". 15 May 2023. https://www.statsf1.com/en/2023/miami/championnat.aspx. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
- ↑ "Emilia Romagna GP: F1 personnel asked to leave Imola paddock amid concern over heavy rain". 16 May 2023. https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/12882241/emilia-romagna-gp-f1-personnel-asked-to-leave-imola-paddock-amid-concern-over-heavy-rain.
- ↑ Noble, Jonathan (16 May 2023). "Imola F1 weekend faces disruption amid red alert weather warning". https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/imola-f1-weekend-faces-disruption-amid-red-alert-weather-warning/10470028/. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ↑ Mitchell, Rory (17 May 2023). "Italian government calls for Imola GP to be postponed". https://racingnews365.com/italian-government-calls-for-imola-gp-to-be-postponed.
- ↑ Cleeren, Filip (17 May 2023). "Italian deputy PM calls for Imola F1 to be postponed". https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/italian-deputy-pm-calls-for-imola-f1-to-be-postponed/10470414/.
- ↑ Matt Kew (17 May 2023). "F1 cancels Imola GP due to weather emergency". motorsport.com. https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1-cancels-emilia-romagna-gp-due-to-weather-emergency/10470445/.
- ↑ "Update on the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola". 17 May 2023. https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.breaking-update-on-the-emilia-romagna-grand-prix-at-imola.14xk8GLh2Lr8wBGdJqhxnO.html.
- ↑ Richards, Giles (17 May 2023). "F1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix cancelled due to flooding in northern Italy". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/may/17/emilia-romagna-grand-prix-teams-told-stay-away-imola-flood-alert.
| v·d·e | Nominate this page for Featured Article |
| V T E |  Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Circuits | Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari (2020–present) |  |
| Races | 2020 • 2021 • 2022 • |