F1
The Emilia Romagna GP was scheduled to take place from May 19-21 at Imola – here’s why it was cancelled
The fourth edition of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix scheduled to take place this weekend; has been postponed due to heavy flooding in Northern Italy. The region has been devastated by heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and landslides in the past week and red weather warnings are still in place. Although the race has been officially ‘postponed’, it is unlikely that it will be rescheduled because the F1 calendar is pretty congested.
It is unfortunate that we might not have an F1 race at the historic Imola circuit this season but organisers believe that this is the best possible decision considering the safety and well-being of everyone involved. There are reports of at least eight casualties in the Emilia Romagna region while thousands have been evacuated from their homes.
The decision has been taken following a meeting between the F1 authorities and relevant political ministers of the Emilia Romagna region. In its official statement, the FIA announced: “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 is understood that the authorities will look for possible options to re-schedule the race but the chances of it taking place this season are ‘less’.
F1 action moves to Monaco next weekend for the Monaco. The drivers’ and constructors’ remain as it is following the postponement of the Emilia Romagna GP.
Red Bull continues to dominate the drivers’ championship standings having registered a 1-2 finish in the previous race in Miami. They have made a fantastic start to the season and earlier recorded 1-2 finishes in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan besides a top-of-the-podium finish in Australia Max Verstappen leads the standings with 119 points followed by his team-mate Sergio Perez, who occupies the second spot with 105 points. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso lies in the third spot with 75 points – ahead of Lewis Hamilton, Carlos Sainz and George Russell.
In the constructors’ championship, the picture is no different. Defending champions Red Bull are miles ahead of the pack having accumulated 224 points. Aston Martin are significantly behind in second place, having earned 102 points from five races so far. Mercedes are placed third in the leaderboard with 96 points in their kitty – a whopping 128 points behind the leaders.
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