McLaren drivers Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne completed only nine laps between them on Friday, but for once it wasn't an issue with the MCL32 that kept them in the garage.
Poor visibility grounded the medical helicopter and red flagged Friday practice after only 20 minutes of track time.
"Well, what can I say?" said racing director Eric Boullier. "In FP1 Fernando drove five laps, and Stoffel four. In FP2 no-one drove any laps at all, and the session was aborted even before it was due to end.
"That was the correct decision, disappointing as it must have been for the small number of spectators who had braved the rain and mist.
"You can’t race if the available vision is too poor to allow a helicopter to be deployed safely. That’s an absolute, because the safety of our drivers is paramount.
"However, we know we’re in the entertainment business," he added. "We all hope to be able to put on a better show tomorrow with plenty of on-track action. The weather is forecast to be rather better.”
"It’s good to see the fans in the grandstands and how much they enjoy Formula 1," Alonso contributed. "But it’s a shame that we didn’t put any laps in for them in FP2, and very few in FP1.
"Hopefully we can give them a good show tomorrow and Sunday," he echoed.
"It wasn’t a very exciting day for any of us," added Vandoorne. "Nobody wants to wait in the car or hang about in the garage.
"There will be a lot for me to catch up with tomorrow," he conceded. "It’s the first time I’ve driven here, so catching up will be one of our key tasks tomorrow. We’ll try to make the most of it.
"We have some new bits on the car and we would’ve preferred to spend more time on track to evaluate them. But it’s the same for everyone, after all."
GALLERY: All the pictures from Friday in Shanghai
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