Everything Trackside

This year’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix is off. Two days before cars were due on track at Imola the announcement came, after widespread flooding devastated the Italian region

With roads closed and emergency services focused on the natural disaster, it was the only option.

It’s far from the first time it has happened though.

Around 50 races thought to have been dropped over the course of grand prix history.

So here we’ve rounded up five other major cancellations since F1 came into existence and looked at the reasons behind it.

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Dutch & Belgium GP 1957

Economics was at the heart of the decision to postpone two races in 1957.

Following the Suez Crisis, petrol rationing forced bosses to ask teams to accept less money. Never something that goes down well in F1.

The teams were having none of it.

As a result, Spa-Franchorchamps and Zandvoort were cancelled that year.

It left a measly 8 races on the F1 calendar in 1957. A season eventually won Juan Manuel Fangio in the Maserati 250F.

Belgium GP 1969

This could be the most crucial cancellation of all as it was spearheaded by the drivers pus for safety.

Led by Sir Jackie Stewart, the Grand Prix Driver’s Association demanded changes ahead of the race.

Organisers who refused to take them seriously offered nothing in return. Short notice was blamed for the lack of action.

So, as the prized commodities that they knew they were, they simply chose not to race.

It was a pivotal moment in the sport and something workers everywhere should take notice. Always know your value to the industry that you work in.

There were suggestions after the postponement that F1 drivers were no longer the daredevils we loved.

The deaths that have followed in the sport after the 70s show this has never been the case.

Sir Jackie went on to say that “safety didn’t come easy.”

New York GP 1983

F1 has gone USA mad this year with three races on the calendar – Miami, Las Vegas and COTA.

Many decades ago, F1 chief, Bernie Ecclestone thought the same thing and wanted to take the sport to the Big Apple.

The race was announced in late 1982 for the following year with the aim to bring “the beauty and charm associated with Monte Carlo” with an American twist.

What Bernie didn’t count on was the issues he would face in the build up.

Legal challenges, environmental protests and sponsorship issues all halted the momentum built up in ’82.

Despite further attempts to hold the race in 1984, it just wouldn’t happen for F1 and the States.

Who would have thought we’d be hammering down the Vegas strip in 2023 aye?

Bahrain GP 2011

Formula 1 is no stranger to politics with some of its host nations promoting questionable human rights records.

This boiled over in 2011 for the season opener at Bahrain.

In the month previous, protests had spread across North Africa and the Middle East. It became known as the Arab Spring.

Several protesters were killed and paramedics reportedly were prevented from reaching the injured.

Nabeel Rajab, vice-president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, defended the decisions made stating that protesters would seek to exploit the F1 event’s international glare.

After some classic F1 thumb twiddling, the decision was taken to cancel the race.

Talk of holding the race later in the year never materlialised. The sport returned to Bahrain the following year in 2012, although some would say this was misjudged.

The event was, one again, met with protests and The Independent went on to name it “one of the most controversial in the history of the sport”.

Australian GP 2020

I’m going to ask you cast your mind back to March 2020 now – sorry about that.

It was of course the start of there Covid pandemic sweeping the world.

F1 was rolling into Australia for the first racer but a dark cloud already loomed over the sport. “Cash is King” drifted from garage to garage as the sport batted away health concerns to try and complete the race.

Then the inevitable happened. A positive Covid test in the McLaren garage left many self-isolating and others scared.

This was a time when we didn’t fully understand the virus and the effect to had. Even on supremely fit athletes like F1 drivers.

Teams and drivers had already left the country by Friday morning and yet, fans began to queue, with no official word from F1 bosses.

Finally, the confirmation came that the sport would be taking an indefinite break.

Little did we know that we wouldn’t see another race for four months – even these were held without fans.

Imola 2023

The 2023 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was called off after severe flooding in the area.

Heavy rain led to a paddock-evacuation on Tuesday and its now bee judged to be unsafe to return.

The statement read: “The Formula One community wants to send its thoughts to the people and communities affected by the recent events in the Emilia-Romagna region.

“We also want to pay tribute to the work of the emergency services who are doing everything they can to help those in need.

Its a terrible shame for those in the area with the devastation this has caused and we wish everyone well at this difficult time.

What really stood out about this is the rapid action from F1 bosses. They didn’t draw their heels for once.

This has been appreciated by everyone. F1 may be a sport where you live on the edge, but the people and moreover safety must always come first.

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_{Get 10% off all official F1 Merch at TheRaceWorks.com using code ‘EF1‘ at checkout.}