Formula 1: In the lights of recent events, FIA canceled the Emilia Romagna GP scheduled between 19th-21st May. The Italian region is grappling with torrential rain and flood warnings with a huge population at risk of life and dispersion. Imola being the first of the European triple header was one of the most-anticipated races of the season for multitudes of reasons. F1 was planning to introduce a new qualifying format in Imola GP, which is facing an inadvertent delay. Follow InsideSport on GOOGLE NEWS / Follow Formula 1 Updates with InsideSport.IN.
The cancellation of Emilia Romagna GP means a lot of things. First, the 2023 race calendar is now reduced to 22 rounds instead of 23 as planned. Second, a lot of teams including Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren had planned big upgrades this weekend. Moreover, home team Ferrari had high hopes riding on Imola GP, as they planned to twitch their rear suspension. Meanwhile, Mercedes decided to bring in major suspension-related upgrades to unlock more downforce.
All of it went into vain as the Emilia-Romagna region saw one of its worst calamities. As per the reports, 13 people have died till now owing to disastrous impact of the weather. Since cancellation of the race, teams and drivers have come out to support the FIA decision with tearful prayers for the localites. F1 and Ferrari have both individually donated 1 million euros each for the crisis aversion and rehabilitation of the victims.
Hungarian GP to be the new testing ground for new qualifying session after Imola GP cancellation
During the Imola GP, FIA planned a new Saturday qualifying pattern. This format would have required drivers to use the Hard compound in Q1, the Medium in Q2, and the Soft in Q3. The change aimed to reduce the number of tire sets used per driver from 13 to 11. FIA introduced it to promote environmental sustainability.
However, after washing away of Imola GP, the new testing ground for this new format will be the 2023 Hungarian GP. The race calendar marks the race date to be 23rd of July, at the very sought-after Hungaroring Circuit. “According to reports from Motorsport Magazine, Formula 1, in collaboration with Pirelli, has chosen the Hungarian Grand Prix on July 21-23 as the evaluation opportunity for the revised qualifications,” reported news website Si.com.
As of now, the focus has shifted from on track shenanigans as situation worsens in Emilia Romagna by minute. However, as far as the race schedule is concerned, F1 community will land in Monaco next week for some street action. Tell us your predictions for the much-anticipated race in the comments below.
Also Read- How cancellation of Imola GP impacts Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren?
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