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F1 heads to qualifying day after two sessions canceled due to fog; Watch P3 on Sky F1 at 11am Saturday, qualifying at 2pm
By Matt Morlidge
Last Updated: 09/10/20 3:48 pm
2:48
The FIA has confirmed that there will be no races on Friday at the Eifel GP after the second practice was canceled.
The opening day of the Eifel GP was canceled due to bad weather at the Nurburgring, with the two practice sessions on Friday canceled amid persistent rain and fog.
The lack of action on the track means that Formula 1 teams and drivers head to Saturday’s crucial qualifying day with no data on a circuit returning this season after seven years off the calendar.
With the circuit shrouded in dense fog throughout the day, the medical helicopter was unable to fly safely, so both practice sessions followed the same pattern.
The pit-lane never opened at the scheduled start time of P1 and P2, and subsequent half-hour updates saw no improvement in the weather and thus meant that no cars hit the track.
“So it’s a two-day weekend for the teams, effectively,” said Sky F1’s Ted Kravitz.
2:30 Natalie Pinkham caught up with Renault driver Daniel Ricciardo ahead of this weekend’s Eifel GP.
“They’ve seen this before. It’s questionable how much they would have run anyway with the wet conditions and the rain tire restrictions.
“Tomorrow is brighter, with a forecast of sun, with some streak of rain on Sunday.”
There is only one practice session scheduled before qualifying on Saturday. The third practice will begin at 11 a.m. M. At Sky Sports F1, before qualifying at 2pm. M., Y will start from 1 p. M.
“I don’t care, I actually like [the shortened weekend]”said Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.” It makes everything a little more complicated and interesting. “
Why didn’t F1 practice take place on Friday?
Not only did no action on the track spoil the teams’ race plans before the weekend, it also prevented two budding youngsters, Mick Schumacher and Callum Ilott, from making their F1 practice debuts for Alfa Romeo and Haas respectively.
The rain was never torrential, so that was not the reason for the lack of race. The thick fog, however, yes.
“The humidity is fine, it’s just that the medical helicopter can’t fly to the receiving hospital because of the fog,” explained FIA race director Michael Masi.
“So even though we have the transmission helicopter flying around the circuit, going from here to any of the hospitals if something happens is not possible and, therefore, from a security perspective, we would not start the session.”
It is the second time this season that an F1 session has been canceled, with practice three from the Styrian GP scrapped due to heavy rains in the 2020 second round in Austria.
Last year, the entire Saturday of the Japanese GP was ruled out due to Typhoon Hagibis, and qualifying moved to Sunday. Masi said F1 has backup plans for this weekend, although the “prognosis looks better.”
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