Nurburgring remained silent on Friday as continued poor weather saw Practice 2 also cancelled ahead of Sunday’s Eifel Grand Prix.
The afternoon was a carbon copy of the morning, as persistent rain and fog meant the medical helicopter was unable to fly, meaning the session could not go ahead on safety grounds.
As a result, teams and drivers now have just one hour of practice time to work on setup and gather data on Saturday morning, then it will be straight into qualifying in the afternoon.
That, of course, is weather-dependent too, but conditions are expected to improve even if the temperatures will remain cold across the weekend.
The disruption isn’t too surprising given the potential for rain and fog was highlighted almost immediately after it was announced Nurburgring would host a race in October.
But given the circumstances that have led to F1’s return to the track after seven years, Haas chief Guenther Steiner played down whether the decision to visit this late in 2020 was a mistake.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a mistake,” he told Sky Sports. “This year nothing is a mistake. Holding any Grand Prix is a success in my opinion.
“If you are a beggar you cannot be a chooser, how we say. We needed to get something in, and this was the best option.
“It’s not the first time the weather has been like this,” he added.
“Tomorrow if it is better and Sunday it is a rain race, who actually cares. This year, any race we can get in at any time, I think it’s a win for us.”