2023-05-17 03:37:50
The Santerno River has overflowed, subjecting F1 personnel preparing for this weekend’s Grand Prix to a pre-emptive evacuation order. Personnel working in preparation for the 2023 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix have been instructed to evacuate the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, better known as Imola, following flooding in the region around the track today.
Meteorologist and presenter Albert Febrega tweeted today that the decision to evacuate the runway was taken “just in case”. The heavy rains caused the Santerno River, which runs north of the track, to overflow its banks.
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According to the local newspaper Il Nuovo Diario Messaggero, several roads in the area have been closed and people are prohibited from driving or parking along the Santerno River. A video released by the newspaper shows the view from the Tosa bridge, which crosses the curve of the same name at the racetrack.
Fortunately, the tweet shared by Fabrega shows that, around 10:00 am local time, after the announcement of the evacuation order, the paddock area had not flooded. However, a previous forecast published by the meteorologist suggests that the rain will be even worse tomorrow and will continue through the week.
The rain should ease after that, and the risk of rain is lower over the weekend when the Grand Prix is due. With the weather slowing down track preparations, doubts about the viability of the race are beginning to arise. So far, Formula 1’s governing body has not announced plans to modify the weekend’s schedule in response to the floods.
The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix returned to the F1 calendar in 2020, for this season’s Covid-impacted schedule, and was won by Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton. The sport has returned every year since, with current drivers’ championship leader Max Verstappen of Red Bull winning the final two laps of the race.
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