The extremely busy schedule of the 2023 Formula One championship makes it impractical to reschedule the Imola Grand Prix within the current season. One of the initial scenarios considered to try and hold the race at the 4.909-kilometre Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari was to place it immediately after the Belgian Grand Prix. However, the scheduled summer break in early August makes this option unfeasible as well. Most likely, the Grand Prix will only be rescheduled for the 2026 Formula 1 campaign.
Why is it unthinkable to reschedule the Imola Grand Prix in the 2023 season?
As mentioned before, one of the main reasons that prevent the rescheduling of the Imola Grand Prix is the inability to include it in the month of August, as teams will enter a mandatory break phase according to regulations. Additionally, a significant portion of the teams’ personnel will have already booked their vacations, making this scenario difficult to accept.
Another hypothetical scenario would be to include Imola in the only week-long break between the back-to-back races of Austria-United Kingdom (July 2-9) and Hungary-Belgium (July 23-30). However, deciding to hold the event on the weekend between July 14 and 16 would mean having five consecutive Grand Prix races, which is obviously unthinkable.
The same problem would arise if it were decided to combine Monza and Imola together. The only available slot would be from September 8 to 10, once again forming a streak of five consecutive races between Zandvoort, Monza, Singapore, and Japan.
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Finding a slot amidst the triple journey of the United States, Mexico, and Brazil is also unlikely due to the close proximity of the races. Finally, scheduling Imola between late October and early November would be equally improbable. The temperatures in Emilia Romagna would be too low to consider holding a Grand Prix at that stage of the year.
For these reasons, considering the impossibility of making date changes with any of the aforementioned races, the most plausible scenario is to postpone everything to 2026.
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The contract between the Imola circuit and the FOM will expire at the end of the 2025 Formula 1 championship. If it is not possible to reschedule the Grand Prix this year, the two parties may reach an agreement to extend the duration of the agreement by one year and hold the event in 2026, as confirmed by ACI President Sticchi Damiani yesterday.
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