Breaking news
Formula E Rome E-Prix I
Rome FE round "a miracle" following Italy COVID emergency
Formula E drivers reckon “it’s not short of a miracle” that this weekend’s double-header Rome E-Prix has been organised as Italy extends the state of emergency of in the country.
Matt Kew
Edited: Apr 10, 2021, 10:00 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Italy is presently seventh on the list of countries in which confirmed cases of the coronavirus are spreading most rapidly and it has also extended its state of emergency until 30 April.
Rome - in the province of Lazio – has recently been eased from a red zone and is now classified as orange, which means a curfew plus travel bans between cities remain in place.
This follows an Easter weekend when the top restriction levels were imposed nationwide.
The Rome E-Prix on a revised circuit layout in the EUR region also marks the first bona fide street track on the Formula E calendar since the Bern E-Prix on 22 June 2019.
All subsequent races have been held at temporary circuits, in parks and at airfields.
Audi driver Lucas di Grassi praised that the race has been able to go ahead, saying: “Congratulations to Formula E and to everybody from Rome that has allowed this race to happen.
“It is not short of a miracle that we are here racing this weekend with all the right protocols and everything.
“It is fundamental that we go back to racing street tracks like we are racing with weekend.”
The Rome E-Prix has four years remaining on its deal with the series to host races and city mayor Virginia Raggi, who is seeking re-election in 2021, is a major proponent of the event.
The Marconi Obelisk
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
Jaguar Racing driver Sam Bird, who won the inaugural Rome E-Prix in 2018, added: “I want to echo what Lucas said.
“A lot of acknowledgement needs to be to Formula E and to everybody that made this happen.
“It is a bit of a miracle we are here racing in such an iconic city.
“Given the circumstances, it’s amazing.”
Last month, Rome was modified to become a double-header with the next round in Valencia also boosted to two races with the Marrakech E-Prix set to be cancelled for this year.
Formula E has also delayed the announcement of the remainder of the schedule for this season, with the final update now thought to go public at the end of this month.
Mercedes driver Nyck de Vries did repeat di Grassi and Bird’s sentiment, adding that the Rome street circuit was “real” Formula E.
He said: “This is really what Formula E is and is about.
“It’s in the DNA of the championship and we should really be pushing to continue to build these tracks in city centres.
“I am very much looking forward to actually getting the real Formula E experience.”
Read Also:
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Jaguar commits to Formula E's Gen3 era
Next article New Dragon FE car now expected to debut in Monaco
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Matt Kew
Marko suggests Perez's improved F1 form because 2025 contract at stake
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
Marko suggests Perez's improved F1 form because 2025 contract at stake
Russell explains how low-fuel runs expose Mercedes F1 inconsistency
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
Russell explains how low-fuel runs expose Mercedes F1 inconsistency
Leclerc: No answer for "once in a season" Japan F1 qualifying struggle
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
Leclerc: No answer for "once in a season" Japan F1 qualifying struggle
Latest news
Dodge announces return to NASCAR Cup Series in 2027
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup 19 min
Dodge announces return to NASCAR Cup Series in 2027
Justin Allgaier confirms he will return for 2027 NASCAR O'Reilly season
NASCAR O'Reilly
NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly
Martinsville II
29 min
Justin Allgaier confirms he will return for 2027 NASCAR O'Reilly season
NASCAR Cup Homestead finale to feature full field of 40 cars
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
3 h
NASCAR Cup Homestead finale to feature full field of 40 cars
Data reveals severity of Carson Hocevar's brake-check: "There's no denying it"
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
4 h
Data reveals severity of Carson Hocevar's brake-check: "There's no denying it"
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe