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The start of the Eifel Grand Prix weekend was delayed on Friday morning when bad weather prevented the drivers from taking to the track at 11am local time as scheduled for the first practice session.
Fog and rain at the Nurburgring on Friday morning meant conditions were too bad for the medical helicopter to fly, meaning that Race Control would not allow the cars on the track.
The FP1 session technically started at 11 am local time, although Race Control informed the teams that the pit lane would remain closed, and a new update would be issued 30 minutes after the session started. They also said that a 10-minute notice would be given before the pit lane would open.
The delay will be particularly disappointing for Mick Schumacher and Calum Ilott, Ferrari’s junior drivers who will debut in F1 free practice this session for Alfa Romeo and Haas respectively.
Follow the latest news about the delayed session on our live blog here.
Race director Michael Masi explained that they would be keeping a close eye on the weather, but added that safety was the main concern.
“It’s a bit challenging, obviously, with the fog that has come in, the medical helicopter can’t take off and fly to the hospital,” he said. “The road distance is too great in case something happens, so at this point we have effectively started the countdown clock for free practice 1 and will then provide an additional update to the teams every 30 minutes.
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“Obviously the region that we are in is probably not much different than Austria, earlier in the year, where we had a similar situation. It’s just the nature of the area and the location, and the fog has come in, it’s been rising slightly and then going down more dramatically.
“We will simply judge at the time and from the perspective of the FIA, the safety of all participants, particularly of the drivers leaving, is paramount and that is not something we will not compromise.”
