Fans will be banned at this weekend’s 2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola after the Italian government has banned spectators from attending due to a recent spike in Covid-19 cases across Italy.
Officials had hoped to follow the lead of Portugal last week when the Portuguese allowed a limited number of fans to attend the 2020 Portuguese Grand Prix at Portimao. Italian officials were set to allow 13,000 spectators into the track on Saturday and Sunday but the rise of coronavirus cases across Italy has caused them to reverse course and ban crowds at events.
The 2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola is a replacement race for Formula One officials who were forced to add races to the calendar as other venues had to cancel due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Imola returns as an F1 venue for the first time since 2006 – having a checkered past as the site of Brazilian great Ayrton Senna’s death in 1994.
The 2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix will be held over a compressed two-day schedule over the weekend – with a single [rather than the usual three] practice session on Saturday morning before qualifying in the afternoon followed by the race on Sunday.