FP2 canceled due to Shanghai weather

The second practice session for the Chinese Grand Prix was canceled following poor weather conditions in Shanghai causing safety concerns.

While track conditions were fine for running, low cloud and smog made visibility poor in Shanghai itself and prevented the medical helicopter from operating. Had an accident occurred and a driver needed to be flown to hospital, the helicopter could not have landed at its destination, forcing the session to be suspended indefinitely until it was canceled completely 15 minutes before the scheduled finish time.

The afternoon situation followed limited running in the morning, with just 21 minutes of track time possible in FP1 before the same problem halted proceedings. FIA race director and safety delegate Charlie Whiting explained he was receiving regular updates from a local airport that had been closed due to the conditions to see if running could take place.

"At the moment it can't land at the hospital which is about 38 kilometers away unfortunately," Whiting said during the session. "It looks reasonable here, I know, and there are helicopters flying here, but they can't actually land at the airport which is in downtown Shanghai.

"We're getting news from the airport which is also affected by the low cloud – we're getting news every 10 minutes. We're just keeping up with that."

The weather forecast for Saturday's running is more positive, with a dry day expected –although low cloud is due to remain, which could have a further impact on the final practice session and qualifying.

Despite the lack of running, the race weekend schedule will remain unchanged, with teams now facing just one final hour of practice on Saturday morning before qualifying and the race.