After a couple of days of waiting for weather conditions to improve, Formula 1 in mutual agreement with the Italian government, confirmed the cancellation of the Grand Prix of Emilia-Romagna during the following weekend (May 19-21); all this due to the floods in a great part of the transalpine region caused by the cyclone “Minerva” . In full agreement, Mexico’s Sergio “Checo” Perez expressed his support and understanding of the decision.
For several days, heavy rains in northern Italy have forced the evacuation of several towns in the region and alerted about a possible overflowing of the Santerno River, which is located near the Imola circuit. As a result, different venue areas were affected, and even the workers and staff of each team were ordered not to go to the building on Wednesday.
Through a statement on social networks, the official account of Formula 1 issued a statement in which they noted the cancellation of the Emilia-Romagna GP, stressing the importance of being able to safeguard all those involved.
“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 the Emilia Romagna region, the mayor of the city, and the promoter, the decision was taken not to continue with the Grand Prix weekend in Imola,” they mentioned in the announcement this May 17.
Likewise, they added that the safety of all the people at the event is being sought. “The decision has been taken because holding the event safely for our fans, teams, and staff is impossible. It is the right and responsible thing to do given the situation that the towns and cities in the region are going through. It would not be right to put more pressure on the local authorities and emergency services at this difficult time.”
On the other hand, the president of the Automobile Club d’Italia, Angelo Sticchi Damiani, mentioned in an interview for Tuttosport that it is practically a fact that the race will not be rescheduled on another date of the current season due to the full schedule with 18 circuits ahead, there is no space in which it can be put. However, he pointed out that the compensation will be in the automatic renewal of Imola for another year (until 2026).
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Sergio Perez commented on the matter.
As soon as the cancellation of the Italian GP was taken for granted, different drivers and teams sent their message of support to all the people of Emilia-Romagna. One of the drivers who did not wait long as the Mexican Sergio “Checo” Perez, who was already in Italy for the sixth date of the championship.
All my thoughts and prayers with the people of the Italian region of Emilia Romagna. We will not be racing this weekend, but we hope to be back soon. Please stay safe.
Checo Perez
Regarding the performance of the driver from Guadalajara, his performance has been full of ups and downs. Previously, Sergio raced three times at the Enzo e Dino Ferrari Autodromo ( 2020, 2021, and 2022), the last two as a Red Bull driver and the first time he did it as a Racing Point driver.
Here are Checo‘s results at the Emilia-Romagna GP:
- 2020, sixth place with Racing Point
- 2021, eleventh place with Red Bull
- 2022, second place with Red Bull
With the cancellation of this race, the activities in the “Gran Circo” for the Mexican and all the other teams will take place just one week later at the Monaco Grand Prix. In this circuit, Perez achieved a historic victory last season.
