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Formula 1 Chinese GP
F1 teams to discuss moving Chinese GP to Saturday
Formula 1 teams are set to discuss with the FIA the idea of shifting the Chinese Grand Prix to Saturday in a bid to avoid Sunday's race being cancelled on weather grounds.
Jonathan Noble
Edited: Apr 7, 2017, 10:42 AM
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Track action at the Shanghai circuit on Friday was extremely limited due to the medical helicopter being out of action because it could not land at the FIA's designated hospital in Shanghai.
The FIA's rules state that a session cannot continue if a medical helicopter nor an ambulance can get to the assigned hospital within approximately 20 minutes.
The preferred hospital in Shanghai is 38 kilometres away, which is too far away for the ambulance. An alternative medical facility is just 5km away, but even that is too difficult to reach within the allowed time because of bad local traffic.
With the facility impossible to reach within the 20-minute deadline, the FIA had no choice but to abandon running on Friday.
Better weather is predicted for Saturday, which should allow track action to get back underway without problem, but poor conditions are expected to return on Sunday.
With the prospect of track action being unable to take place on Sunday, one idea being considered is for both qualifying and the race to take place on Saturday.
The matter is set to be discussed at Friday night's drivers' briefing, which will be attended by team managers – and a change would require unanimous support from the teams.
The situation in China is further complicated because the event is a back-to-back with Bahrain, which means that it cannot be delayed until Monday because the freight needs to be shipped.
The FIA has played down the matter, however, insisting there is no plan to change the timetable in such a way.
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