F1 has announced that this weekend's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix will not go ahead as there is no guarantee that it can be held safely.

The official announcement reads as follows:

Following discussions between Formula 1, the President of the FIA, the competent authorities - including the relevant Ministers, the President of the Automobile Club of Italy, the President of Emilia-Romagna Region, the Mayor of the City and the promoter - the decision has been taken not to proceed with the Grand Prix weekend at Imola.

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 such a tragedy to see what has happened to Imola and Emilia-Romagna," said Stefano Domenicali, "the town and region that I grew up in, and my thoughts and prayers are with the victims of the flooding and the families and communities affected.

"I want to express my gratitude and admiration for the incredible emergency services who are working tirelessly to help those who need help and alleviate the situation - they are heroes and the whole of Italy is proud of them.

"The decision that has been taken is the right one for everyone in the local communities and the F1 family as we need to ensure safety and not create extra burden for the authorities while they deal with this very awful situation."

"My thoughts and those of the entire FIA family are with those affected by the terrible situation in the Emilia Romagna region," added FIA President, Mohammed Ben Sulayem. The safety of everyone involved and recovery efforts are the top priority at this time."

Earlier, Italy's Transport Minister Matteo Salvini called on F1 bosses to scrap the race, saying that it was "imperative to concentrate all efforts on coping with the emergency".

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by kenji, 19/05/2023 9:04

"@DEfiant...thanks for the support. I simply don't know why some people resist acknowledging the facts! Is it the digital alternative to a public flogging? The art of credible debate has been lost forever. I shall continue to test the fashionable newspeak and take it from there......
@ Italian Job...quite so, but the new ecowarriors don't want to know about all of that! It's an inconvenient truth best left unsaid according to them. Stay the course. "

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2. Posted by habentsen, 19/05/2023 8:30

"Any press releases specifying if it’s postponed for a later date or cancelled?
I’ts a decent track."

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3. Posted by Defiant, 18/05/2023 23:04

"Shows how lost in propaganda the masses are kenji. You spoke the truth and still got lots of negative hits."

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4. Posted by Italian Job, 18/05/2023 19:32

"When did "climate change" start? was it at the end of the last ice age, was it during the Industrial Revolution (say about 1800 AD) or was it simultaneous with the development of mass air travel?
Will our prostrating ourselves at the great God of Net Zero (especially when some countries continue building coal fired power stations) save the world? It might, but I doubt it.
Kenji refers to Florence in 1966, consider Lake Como in 1987 when Lake Como (look at its size on a map) rose by five or six feet!"

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5. Posted by elsiebc, 18/05/2023 19:12

"Sinking land is not caused by rising sea waters, even if the net result is the same.

Also, the F1 engineers draw a design, make a model, test the model, build the part, install it, and then look for correlation between their CFD, wind tunnel, and ultimately the real world. When the real world does not replicate the findings of the model something is wrong and must be changed. Holding on to a failed model will only have them competing for the back row. "

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6. Posted by Superbird70, 18/05/2023 15:29

"Just taking a little longer; https://nypost.com/2023/05/17/nyc-is-sinking-under-the-weight-of-its-buildings-geologists/
New Yorkers won't disappoint."

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7. Posted by elsiebc, 18/05/2023 14:45

"It was wise not to followup on Bernie's dream of a race in Manhattan since the "science" said it was to be underwater by 2015. Or was it 2016? I forget. "

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8. Posted by Superbird70, 18/05/2023 11:53

"@Bill Hopgood, Maybe F1/Liberty can take the proceeds of the Las Vegas race, which looks to be a sell out ( in more ways than one) to help the affected regions in Italy. "

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9. Posted by kenji, 18/05/2023 1:23

"The floods in Italy are not without precedent!!! Since BC times there have been a multitude of catastrophic floods recorded, some so severe that Rome itself was threatened many many times. Who can forget the scenes from the 1966 Florentine floods? 14000 works if art damaged, millions of manuscripts lost,101 deaths etc etc etc. Yes, there is climate change, yesterday will be different to today will nbe different to tomorrow and so on ad infinitum. We live in a dynamic global system and that has always been the case. That's not to say that we cannot do better in 'cleaning up our act' by responsible acts to reduce pollution.

IMO, having witnessed the supreme powers of nature many times I am not convinced that we are the sole source of planetary weather disruption. Climate change unfortunately has become a political wedge of gigantic proportions and there are many scientific challenges to the data flowing from otherwise respected bodies. We here in Australia live in a land of dramatic climate changes...which is relatively normal for most. However the BOM have been proved to have manipulated the historic data to suit their agenda in climate modelling.Let's get on with doing a better job of managing day to day waste and better systems. We cannot control nature. Climate change policies pursued by the UN have been said to constitute 'the greatest transfer of wealth ever witnessed' from rich to poor countries. I do not think that that is overstatement. The truth and politics are not complimentary partners...what a disgrace."

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10. Posted by BillH, 17/05/2023 18:42

"The decision to hold races in this part of Europe at this time of year (spring) rather than summer is like going to South East Asia in the monsoon season.

F1 needs to re-think their calendar so the fans and everyone involved with F1 has the best opportunity for successful events. Perhaps concentrate all their hot "flyaway, middle east" races pre Monaco GP and start with Spain.

Thoughts are with those affected by this bad weather across this part of Europe.

Hopefully as @WokingChap notes, F1 can come back later in the year and put on a show with some kind of proceeds going to the local community so badly affected."

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11. Posted by Burton, 17/05/2023 17:09

"It took something like this for F1 to release a statement that actually hits the right tone for once.

Hopefully things get better soon."

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12. Posted by Wokingchap, 17/05/2023 16:25

"Correction...... sadly there's 8 deaths."

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13. Posted by Wokingchap, 17/05/2023 16:21

"To say the weather here is terrible is unfortunately an understatement. It's been an absolute disaster with roads, bridges and river banks collapsing flooding the whole region.
2 deaths that I'm aware of and many people, especially farmers have lost everything.
A sensible decision to call it off.
Perhaps F1 can organise some sort of 'Benefit Gig' or contribute to help those poor people affected."

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14. Posted by Superbird70, 17/05/2023 13:38

"This is the new normal. F1 almost lost Miami two weeks ago due to flooding. Italy has been experiencing a rise in unpredictable weather events over the decade with devastating consequences. Hopefully this event dissipates with relatively little damage and no loss of life."

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15. Posted by Greg, 17/05/2023 13:29

"@Max Noble. The weather here in the region has been terrible. The next 2 weeks is still forecast for rain most days. Watched the Giro d' Italia yesterday as it passed close to where I live. The passe di Radici was nearly called off. Rain, slippery icy surface and 4 degrees at top. This is spring here next w but feels more like the onset of winter. Glad everyone across the border is ok. Best thing they did was to call it off climate change is not BS. "

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Emilia Romagna Grand Prix called off

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