Organisers had resurfaced the track to aid grip in the wet, but finished just 14 days before practice kicked off.Īs such, the track broke up - and emergency repair work only made things worse heading into Saturday practice with laps 25 seconds off the pace from the Friday. This was the old Spa, and Stewart had been involved in a terrifying accident in 1966, when, in the wet, he crashed and was stuck upside down in the car as fuel ruptured from the tank.Īs a senior driver, he led calls for the increased safety that would eventually work its way into Grand Prix racing, although he faced fierce criticism at the time, including from the media.ġ6 years later, the Belgian GP was cancelled in June after practice had got underway. In 1969, Jackie Stewart led a driver boycott of the event as the promoters would not pay for crucial safety upgrades that he demanded. In both 19, the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa was cancelled, but for wildly different reasons. With the series not wanting to place an additional burden on local emergency services in the relief and rescue efforts, the decision was made to cancel the event - with it seemingly unlikely that the race will take place this year.Īs such, it becomes the first race in 1,084 World Championship Grands Prix to be pulled before cars hit the track owing to the weather in what was the only conscientious decision that could be taken as running a major international sporting event in the middle of a disaster area would be inconceivable.īut it is not the first F1 Grand Prix to ever be cancelled - it has happened a handful of times in the history of the World Championship, including for driver boycotts and political unrest. Intense flooding and rainfall in Northern Italy led to F1 officially calling the event off on Wednesday 17th May after personnel were told not to come to the paddock owing to the conditions.
The cancellation of the 2023 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix is an historic first for Formula 1 in that it has become the first ever World Championship race to be cancelled prior to the weekend for weather concerns.
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