Formula One on Wednesday canceled the Emilia Romagna GP due to deadly floods in Italy. The race was scheduled to be the 6th round of the season but the sport's body released a statement to confirm the decision.
"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 at Imola," F1 wrote in a statement.
The race was scheduled to be held this weekend. The F1 personnel was earlier told to stay away from the track after floods affected parts of the Emilia-Romagna region. "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," it added.
Notably, this becomes the second race to be canceled this year. Earlier, the Chinese GP, which was scheduled to be held in April was canceled due to concerns about pandemic-related restrictions. "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, " President and CEO of Formula 1 Stefano Domenicali said.
“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 of 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," he added.
