Because of severe weather conditions in the region of northern Italy, the Emilia Romagna Formula One Grand Prix in Imola will not take place this weekend, officials said on Wednesday.
According to several reports in Italy, at least eight peoples has been killed due to severe flood in the northern region of the country, where Emilia Romagna is situated. Thousand more has been evacuated. In order to "concentrate all efforts on coping with the emergency," Transport Minister Matteo Salvini had previously asked for the race to be cancelled. The contest was slated to be the sixth round of the campaign and the opening one in Europe.
"The Formula 1 community wants to send its thoughts to the people and communities affected by the recent events in the Emilia-Romagna region. We also want to pay tribute to the work of the emergency services who are doing everything they can to help those in need
Following discussions between Formula 1, the President of the FIA, the competent authorities including the relevant Ministers, the President of the Automobile Club of Italy, the President of Emilia Romagna Region, the Mayor of the City and the promoter the decision has been taken not to proceed with the Grand Prix weekend in Imola
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."
The season's first tripleheader was supposed to be the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, a home event for Ferrari, with Monaco and Spain to follow on subsequent weekends.
Red Bull has won each of the races so far, and double world champion Max Verstappen leads teammate Sergio Perez by 14 points.
