Emilia Romagna GP under threat over red weather warning with thunderstorms and rain to batter region
THIS WEEKEND’S Emilia Romagna Grand Prix could face huge disruption from rain after a red alert weather warning was issued.
Italy has already been hit by storms and floods this month.
And things became more critical on Monday when the Department of Civil Protection issued a weather red alert for the Emilia-Romagna region.
That, of course, is the location of the Imola track that will host this weekend’s Formula One race.
The alert warned locals of thunderstorms, high winds and downpours that may result in flooding or damage to infrastructure.
It also stated that up to 100mm of rain could fall in the worst affected areas today.
Due to the risk of flooding, local authorities were advised to close schools and roads while citizens were told to avoid all unnecessary travel.
Now those warnings have caused fears ahead of the motorsport spectacle this weekend with fears spectators may have trouble getting to and from the track as well as the actual racing itself.
It also led to speculation that the Emilia Romagna GP could be cancelled.
However, WTF1 is reporting that “F1 sources are adamant that there is no concern about the event not going ahead”.
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST ONLINE CASINOS FOR 2023
They go on to add that despite the weather chaos, teams and officials are travelling as planned.
Also, operational plans to cope with wet weather have been put in place.
And organisers are working round the clock to make sure that spectator facilities remain usable.
Meanwhile, the race in Imola will see the debut of a new Pirelli rain tyre which does not need heating up beforehand.
Pirelli’s head of car racing and F1 Mario Isola said: “Track tests have shown even better performance than the previous Cinturato Blue full wet, even without the electric heating of the tyre.
“The result of studies carried out by Pirelli, it is the first concrete step towards the use of dry tyres without preheating.”