Pictures posted on social media showed paddocks and TV compounds already affected by standing water as prolonged rains in the area caused river levels to rise.
The team is preparing their garages, works trucks and hospitality units in Imola ahead of this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Continued severe weather has led to speculation that the event may be threatened.
The Emilia Romagna region has been badly affected by the storm in recent weeks, with the Civil Protection Department issuing a red alert on Monday, indicating 100 millimeters of rain on Tuesday and a total of 150 millimeters by late Wednesday.
Forecasts suggest it could continue to rain ahead of Sunday’s matchday.
The National Crisis Unit, which held a meeting with local politicians to discuss the situation in the area, noted: “It is widely agreed that in areas affected by red alert, mayors can foresee, tomorrow, closing the schools and roads most at risk, Start close to banks and landslide areas.
“The invitation to citizens is to avoid travel where possible and to work smart where possible.”
The latter suggestion appears to conflict with the prospect of thousands of motorsport fans from Italy and other countries arriving in the region ahead of the race, despite the track event being days away.
Car parks and spectator areas may also be unavailable due to standing water.
For the first time since 2006, the championship will do away with the oft-maligned slow 14-15 left-right corner and will revert to two high-speed open right-hand corners to complete a lap.
This has increased the top speed of the final corner to 170mph and is intended to allow drivers to follow the main straight more closely into the slipstream and overtake.
While single-car racing got rave reviews from drivers for the changes to improve lap speed during Friday’s practice session, they don’t think the tweaks will help the pass as envisioned.
With the Pirelli tires’ lack of overtaking so far in 2023 due in part to overheating rather than degradation, AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries believes that will again be a major factor this weekend.
He said: “Let’s not jump to conclusions, but obviously the main reason for the change was for a better game.
“I’m not sure if it’s going to give us a better game…the left forward has suffered a lot.
Insight: What we learned from Friday’s practice for the F1 2023 Spanish GP
“It’s a tough job at the front. You can feel it now, on long distances, when you’re behind other cars it’s hard to keep up.
“Now there’s a lot of focus on the front axle, whereas before, there was a little bit of both…they did (change) for the right purpose, let’s put it that way.”
Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo Racing
Photography: Alfa Romeo
De Vries reckons it’s possible to advance two laps before “you end up paying the price” because of so much tire wear.
Drivers also mentioned the 2023 car, fueling concerns that the revised Barcelona lap would not lead to an increase in overtaking.
While the switch to ground effect is intended to help the car follow more closely, winter developments increase levels of dirty air. Drivers commented that this season was significantly harder to keep up with than the previous one.
Alfa Romeo driver Valtteri Bottas told Autosport: “The faster the more fun. (But the level of overtaking) will be the same. The last corner is hard to follow.
“It’s just faster, but I don’t think it will improve overtaking. It’s a bit bumpy over there.
“So, there’s a little bit of movement, which makes it more challenging, but it’s a cool corner. It’s superfast. Definitely more challenging, but also for the tyres.
“It felt like the tires were traveling a lot in those two corners.”
Max Verstappen was the fastest driver on the track at all hours of Friday’s Spanish Grand Prix. The fact that the Red Bull driver also had time to listen to Helmut Marko’s call on the radio should cause concern for the race, according to Peter Windsor.
Haas F1 Team at the helm of Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg had one of the strongest Fridays the team has ever experienced in Spain. FP1 and FP2 in preparation for the Spanish Grand Prix were quickly completed. The riders are hoping for a good result this weekend.