History of canceled F1 GPs: Imola latest in a long list

Imola’s bitter withdrawal, but not the only one
Formula 1 calendars are planned well in advance, but as we have learned in recent years, they can always change, even at the last moment. The cancellation of Imola, which occurred yesterday at lunchtime, is certainly not an isolated case, although it is the first explicitly linked to meteorological issues. It has happened before that the sport had planned a Grand Prix only to have to backtrack shortly before the event.

The Coronavirus
The most recent cases of cancellation in chronological order were the 2023 Chinese Grand Prix and the 2022 Russian Grand Prix, but these decisions were made months before the actual races and were certainly not a surprise, considering the precarious management of Covid-19 in the Asian country and the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. To find a cancellation just before the race, we have to go back to Melbourne 2020 when drivers and teams had even arrived at the circuit only to backtrack after a McLaren team member tested positive for Coronavirus.

Cancellations and postponements pre-2020
A Grand Prix can be canceled for various reasons, and sometimes Formula 1 has offered some bizarre ones. They certainly were not in 1955 when the Le Mans tragedy (the biggest in the history of motorsport) led to the cancellation of the races in Reims, Nürburgring, Bremgarten, and Pedralbes. However, they were not the first races canceled in Formula 1 history: the 1952 and 1953 Spanish GPs and the 1954 Dutch GP were already canceled due to a lack of funds. In 1956, two World Championship races (Netherlands and Spain) were struck off the calendar due to the Suez Crisis and the subsequent increase in oil prices. For the same reason, races in Spa, Zandvoort, and Pedralbes did not take place in 1957. For various reasons, mostly related to finances, Germany was skipped in 1958 and 1960, Belgium, Argentina, and Morocco in 1959 (with the Casablanca GP also canceled for 1960 and 1961). In 1965, Zeltweg was canceled due to circuit safety concerns.

Four years later, in 1969, the Belgian Grand Prix at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps was canceled under pressure from the drivers’ union. The drivers refused to race because they considered the circuit unsafe. Led by Jackie Stewart, who had a close call in the Ardennes in 1966, the GPDA (Grand Prix Drivers’ Association) succeeded in their efforts. “The Spa circuit is too dangerous. It consists of normal-width roads, and very high speeds are reached. No one is protected, neither the drivers nor the spectators. Almost no improvements have been made since 1930. On a wet track, this circuit is deadly: the risk of skidding is enormous. When you’re going very fast, the tires lose grip on puddles, and contact with the road is lost,” stated the three-time world champion.

The precarious safety conditions of the tracks also led to the cancellation of the 1970 Nürburgring Grand Prix and the 1971 Spa Grand Prix. Additionally, Mexico City lost interest in hosting Formula 1 races following the recent death of Pedro Rodriguez and canceled the 1972 race. In the same year, a Grand Prix was supposed to be held at Ontario Motor Speedway, but it was canceled because the circuit had not organized any test events prior to the race. Zandvoort was also skipped for safety reasons.

In 1975, the Canadian Grand Prix was canceled due to a failure to reach an agreement between Mosport Circuit and FOCA (Formula One Constructors’ Association). One year later, the Argentine Grand Prix couldn’t take place due to severe economic and social problems in the country, which had just experienced military dictatorship. In 1977, following Niki Lauda’s terrible accident, the Nürburgring did not host the Grand Prix. Two years later, the deaths of Ronnie Peterson and Gunnar Nilsson led to a loss of interest in Formula 1 from the Anderstorp circuit (Sweden), the audience, and the promoters, resulting in the cancellation of the Grand Prix.

In 1980, Italy also experienced a canceled race when Monza was excluded due to incomplete track renovations. That year, the Italian Grand Prix took place in Imola, while the Spanish Grand Prix, due to disagreements between FISA (Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile) and FOCA, was held but did not count towards the championship. The same happened in Kyalami in 1981.