Here's the thing, as RaceFans reports: Formula 1's final round might land in Italy this December, and the drivers are already joking about packing snow chains. With the championship weighing whether its closing two events in the Middle East can proceed due to the ongoing war between Iran and the USA, Imola has surfaced as the single replacement round if the series abandons its plans for Qatar and Abu Dhabi. Formula 1 previously raced at the track in November six years ago, but a December finale would bring genuinely brutal temperatures.
“I think we should bring the snow chains and the hand warmers,” said Haas’s Oliver Bearman. He knows the area well from living nearby for a good few years, adding that the winter cold is no joke in that part of the world.
There are worse places to be in the wintertime than in Imola,
Some teams have already tested at the circuit this year, including Racing Bulls, which operates out of a base nearby. “It’ll be a bit colder than Abu Dhabi,” said the team’s driver Arvid Lindblad. He remains relaxed about the potential logistical shift, noting that while daylight will fade quicker in December, there are still enough hours to run cleanly. “In the end we’ll do whatever F1 thinks is best. I know they’re managing it. I don’t know all the ins and outs of what’s happening, but I’ve heard that Imola is the back-up.”
This potential shift comes after F1 already had to scrap its April rounds in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. The former was relocated six thousand kilometres away to Sepang in Malaysia for this weekend. If the final rounds face the same fate, Imola stands ready to host the paddock once more, having previously held the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix between 2020 and 2025, barring the 2023 cancellation due to flooding.
Max Verstappen isn't sweating the weather or recent changes to Italy's tax arrangements for elite athletes either. “There are worse places to be in the wintertime than in Imola,” he said. “Yes, it’s a little bit colder than in the summer, it gets darker a bit sooner, but I think we’re all clever enough to make sure that we don’t drive in the dark. And there is no tax issue. You just have to pay tax.”
