Following concerns over the flooding of the Imola racetrack due to the swelling of the Santerno river, the authorities had banned all insiders from accessing the track starting from Tuesday afternoon.
Rising water levels and widespread flooding caused by extreme weather in the region then led to the cancellation of this weekend’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, just days before the track action began
While the rising river invaded lower areas of the circuit, including the F2 paddock and F1 television equipment, the top-class pits and paddock escaped the worst.
However, with F1 under tight deadlines to leave Imola and prepare the circuit for next weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, there was still some pressure and concern to be able to salvage materials, especially as some Italian roads they are still closed and journey times to the Principality will probably increase.
Rainy morning at the paddock
Photo by: Erik Junius
The request not to enter the track remained valid throughout the day on Wednesday, but Thursday morning, with the lessening of the weather conditions, the essential personnel for the dismantling of the equipment were allowed to return to the circuit. This will allow the garages, campervans and other facilities that were set up earlier in the week to be sorted out, so that the journey to Munich can be organized.
With work underway at Imola, F1 has no fears that the cancellation of the race could have consequences for next weekend’s Monaco GP. While not all team personnel arrived in Italy before the race, those who managed to arrive before news of the cancellation broke are returning home.
The teams therefore had to reorganize transport to reach Monaco, with the trucks leaving Italy directly for the Principality. Monaco was originally supposed to be the second race of an intense triple header, but now it will form the first part of what will be a double round with the Spanish Grand Prix, which takes place on June 4th.
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