THE Chinese Grand Prix 2017 could be cancelled unless local authorities step in and enforce much-needed safety precautions.
Drivers have had been virtually unable to run in either the morning or afternoon practice sessions at the Shanghai circuit because of the bad weather conditions.
Will the Chinese Grand Prix 2017 go ahead?
Currently, both drivers and teams are waiting on a decision from the officials about whether the bad weather and poor visibility means the race will have to be cancelled.
In the meantime, a disappointed Lewis Hamilton tweeted: “So sorry for all u either watching on TV or here at the track. We must find a solution to deal with weather issue.”
Why might it be cancelled?
The safety regulations state that medical helicopters have to be able to transport an injured driver to a hospital in under 20 minutes.
But the poor visibility means medical helicopters might not be able to operate if needed and, according to Sky Sports’ F1 expert Ted Kravitz, the local authorities aren’t stepping in to help.
Kravitz explained: “The Chinese are not promising to secure the roads and they’re not promising that they can get a road ambulance to the nearest hospital if the helicopter can’t fly to the hospital in 20 minutes, which is what’s needed.”
Could the time of the race be moved?
On Friday morning, the FIA ruled out moving the race, which is supposed to take place at 7am on Sunday April 7, to a different day, in avoid the worst of the bad weather.
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