Will Imola Grand Prix be rescheduled?

The race at Imola, due to be round six of the 2023 season, was cancelled due to flooding in the local area

The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix has been cancelled and sources close to Formula 1 state that, amid the packed 2023 calendar, it is unlikely the race will be rescheduled this year.

F1 staff were told to stay away from the race circuit in the build-up to the race, with the area struggling to cope with the weather and rain forecast to continue.

The surrounding region has been badly affected by torrential rain in the lead-up to the Grand Prix, which saw the paddock at the circuit evacuated on Tuesday because of the risk of flooding.

Two people have been killed and hundreds of people had been forced to evacuate their homes earlier this month.

The Imola race was due to take place at one of the busiest and most congested times in the F1 calendar. It was due to kick off the first triple-header of the season, with races to follow on consecutive weekends in Monaco and Spain in the record year of 23 races, and finding any time in the schedule for the race could prove too difficult.

Any suggestion of the race taking place in the summer break will be unpopular, while squeezing the event in towards the busy end of the season - with 10 races in 14 weeks - also seems unpalatable.

It will be the second race cancelled this year after the Chinese Grand Prix – due to take place on 16 April – which was cancelled due to the country’s coronavirus restrictions.

The Imola Grand Prix has been cancelled after major flooding in the area (Fomula.City/Instagram)

That left a four-week gap in the schedule, with the Shanghai race cancelled for the fourth successive year. The race had not been rescheduled.

F1 races have been cancelled before for other reasons: in 2022 F1 took a rare political standpoint and cancelled the Russian Grand Prix just days after the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

In 2011, the Bahrain Grand Prix was cancelled after anti-government uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa, with the ‘Arab Spring’ taking hold in the country.

However, rain ahead of time has not cancelled a race before - although in 2021, the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa became the shortest-ever due to the weather.

Half-points were awarded after a handful of laps behind the safety car, two red flags caused the race to be stopped in just the third lap.