F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Friday issues 'could provide an opportunity' for Force India

The Force India team is hoping that the lack of running time for everyone on Friday could prove a boost for their own prospects.

There was only 20 minutes of track time in Friday before poor visibility affecting the medical helicopter caused the day to be red flagged. That means teams will have a lot of catch-up to do on Saturday before the Chinese Grand Prix.

"It’s always frustrating when you cannot do any running because it’s a lost chance to prepare for the weekend," said Sergio Perez.

"Missing all today’s running is a challenge, not just for tomorrow, but also for Sunday," he noted. "FP3 is a very short session to recover all the lost ground.

"I am still positive about our weekend. Today’s lack of running can turn into an opportunity for us - I hope we can benefit from it and come away with a strong result."

China FP2 session abandoned over visibility concerns

Perez completed just three installation laps in Shanghai on Friday. His team mate Esteban Ocon managed just two before the session was curtailed.

"With just two out-laps to my name, I didn’t really learn very much today," the French driver admitted.

"It was useful being in the car. I was able to get used to the various elevation changes on the track and I got to try the intermediate tyre. But of course I would have preferred to do a lot more running.

"Tomorrow looks like it will be a very busy day, especially in FP3. Let’s hope conditions are better and we can get on with our programme."

"It’s always difficult when plans get disrupted," added deputy team principal Bob Fernley. "But everyone on the grid is in the same boat."

GALLERY: All the pictures from Friday in Shanghai

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.