Author: Barkha Roy
The Imola Grand Prix is expected to be held next weekend, despite the region having suffered severe storms and flooding last week.
However, an alert has been issued for possible flooding in the coming days, with the hills and plains near Bologna, Ravenna and Fori under red alert from Wednesday to Thursday. Although the rain is expected to subside over the course of the week, there are forecasts of further showers and possible thunderstorms during Saturday’s qualifying session.
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The Imola GP Continuous and intense rainfall that lasted a day and a half caused riverbeds to overflow in northern Italy, triggering landslides that resulted in the deaths of at least two people. Hundreds more people were forced to evacuate their homes, with 400 receiving assistance from the fire and rescue department and another 250 being relocated from the affected areas. Although there were concerns that the disruption could affect the next race at Imola, which is 40 km from Bologna, the authorities expressed confidence that the event will still take place as the track has not suffered significant damage.
The Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, which was the venue for the San Marino Grand Prix from 1981 to 2006 and also hosted the Italian Grand Prix in 1980, is one of the two Italian tracks on the F1 2023 calendar. In addition, the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was introduced to the F1 calendar in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has remained part of it ever since.
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During the 2022 season, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, held at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, which was his second of a total of 15 wins that year, a record achievement. This victory also helped Verstappen secure his second World Championship title.
Verstappen is currently in line to win his third drivers’ championship, leading the standings by 14 points with 119 points to his name. Meanwhile, Red Bull is leading the constructors’ championship by 122 points, with 224 points to its name, while Aston Martin, in second place, has 102 points to its name.