“The History of Cancelled F1 Grand Prix Races: From Le Mans Tragedy to COVID-19 Pandemic”

Following the news that the 2023 F1 Emilia Romagna GP has been cancelled, RacingNews365 has turned its attention to the Grand Prix that was not held. The cancellation of the 2023 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix is ​​historic for F1, marking the first time in history that a world championship race has been canceled before the weekend due to weather concerns.

F1 officially canceled the event on Wednesday 17 May after being instructed to stay out of the paddocks due to heavy flooding and rain in northern Italy. The decision was made to cancel the event after the series did not want to further burden local emergency services with relief efforts, but it seems unlikely that the race will take place this year. Of the 1,084 World Championship Grand Prix races, this was the first time that the race was canceled before the cars entered the course due to weather. It was the only conscientious decision. But this isn’t the first time a Formula 1 Grand Prix has been cancelled, as it has happened several times in the history of the world championship, including driver boycotts and political unrest. 1955: Le Mans disaster In June 1955, 80 spectators and driver Pierre Levegh were killed in a tragedy at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. His car collided with Lance Macklin, who swerved to avoid Mike Hawthorn’s Jaguar, which had pitted, and somersaulted into the grandstand. As a result, the Grands Prix of France, Switzerland, Spain and Germany were all canceled and the season shortened significantly, giving Juan Manuel Fangio his third title with Mercedes. Motorsport will resume in three of those countries, but the ban remains in place in Switzerland. Racing will resume in Formula E with an exemption for electric vehicles, but the ban on motorsport will not officially be lifted until May 2022, 77 years after the disaster. Pierre Levey’s Mercedes also withdrew from F1 at the end of the 1955 season, but returned as an engine supplier to McLaren in 1997 and took over Brawn GP as a full works team in 2010. 1957: Money, money, money Even in the fledgling world championships, money was what kept the F1 circus going. Gasoline and oil prices soared in the aftermath of the 1956 Suez Crisis when the British government attempted to regain control of the Suez Canal and sack Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, who had nationalized the oil companies. As a result, the promoters of the 1957 Grand Prix in Holland and Belgium could only offer reduced starts and prize money, which the teams refused. A replacement Grand Prix was decided to be held in Pescara, Italy, adding a huge 15.8-mile circuit to the calendar. The lap time was just under 10 minutes, and the winner, Stirling Moss, completed 18 laps in 2:59:22.7. Also, the Suez crisis and the blockade of the canal led to the resignation of British Prime Minister Anthony Eden. Two cancellations at Spa In both 1969 and 1985 the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa was cancelled, but for very different reasons. In 1969, Jackie Stewart led a driver boycott of the event, accusing promoters of not paying for the critical safety improvements he demanded. In 1966 at Spa-Francorchamps, Stewart crashed in wet conditions and had a horrific accident in which fuel spewed out of the tank and turned him upside down inside the car. As a senior driver, he spearheaded calls for improved safety, which eventually made its way into Grand Prix racing, but at the time came under heavy criticism, including in the media. Sixteen years later, in June 1985, the Belgian Grand Prix was canceled after practice had begun. Organizers resurfaced the track to improve grip on wet surfaces, but the work was completed just 14 days before the start of practice. As a result, the track surface collapsed, and emergency repair work forced Saturday’s practice laps to be 25 seconds behind Friday’s. The meeting was canceled and the organizers were given a rather harsh notice, but uniquely on this list, the race was rearranged. The race was held in September and Ayrton Senna won his 41st Grand Prix in his Lotus. Bahrain 2011 – Political unrest At the end of 2010, the “Arab Spring” demonstrations began in the Middle East. Concerns over human rights, the economy and corruption have sparked a series of uprisings in Arab countries. Some rulers, including Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, have been sacked. Anti-government protests erupted in Bahrain, where the season opener was due to take place on March 13, after Bahrain Human Rights Center deputy director Nabeel Rajab was keen to promote F1’s existence. In the end, Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa announced and the race was called off as expected. F1’s revival in 2012 was also turbulent, with Force India skipping FP2 to get back to the hotel before dawn. The first F1 race to be canceled due to COVID-19 was the Chinese Grand Prix in early 2020, but the pandemic had worsened by the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. By the time the race week began, the race was going well, but things took a sharp turn for the worse once we moved to Australia. A McLaren team member withdrew after testing positive for the virus, and the race was ultimately canceled hours before FP1 was due to start. This triggered a wave of cancellations, with races in Vietnam, Monaco, the Americas and Japan all being cancelled. Races in Australia, Canada and Singapore have also been canceled for 2021. The Chinese Grand Prix, which has yet to return to the calendar after 2019 due to the pandemic and the government’s “zero-corona policy”, was eventually canceled in early 2023. Canceled F1 Grand Prix Year Race Reasons for cancellation 1955 France 1955 Le Mans accident 1955 Switzerland 1955 Le Mans accident 1955 Spain 1955 Le Mans accident 1955 Germany・Mann Accident 1957 Netherlands 1956 Suez Crisis 1957 Belgium 1956 Suez Crisis 1969 Belgian…