Ferrari hopes to reschedule the practice runs for Mick Schumacher and Callum Ilott at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The two drivers leading the Formula 2 championship were set to run on Friday morning at the Nurburgring, but persistent rain and fog ultimately led to the cancellation of both sessions.
Looking forward, options are limited at the next three venues and both drivers will likely want to focus on F2 across the final two rounds in Bahrain.
Therefore, F1’s season-ending weekend at Yas Marina is left as the only realistic alternative.
“It’s obviously a shame for them, it would have been a great opportunity here to make their debuts in F1,” said Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto.
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“Obviously we may try to re-arrange in the next races, but it will be very difficult.
“The next one, Portimao, a new circuit for everyone, for F1, so I think our top drivers will need to practice as well.
“We’ve got Imola, which is only a Saturday and Sunday, and then to Turkey again, a new circuit.
“Very likely the next opportunity now will be Abu Dhabi and not earlier. Obviously it’s a missed opportunity, but again, we have no choice.”
Doing that may well deprive Ferrari’s third high-flying F2 junior, Robert Schwartzman, his chance, given he was already slated to drive for Alfa Romeo in Abu Dhabi.
But with expectations that Schumacher and Ilott are set to step up to F1 next year, the Scuderia may see it as imperative they get some FP1 experience before 2021.
Commenting after the weather wiped out his planned Friday outing at the Nurburgring, however, Schumacher was upbeat.
“Obviously it’s been a shame not to get out, but we knew that the weather forecast didn’t look great,” he said.
“This time of year in the Eifel it’s not the most sure it’s going to be dry. We knew it might be wet and it was.
“At the end the preparation was good, we have done a lot of meetings and I got so much knowledge of it so it’s been very helpful.”
Asked if he would be willing to potentially compromise an F2 weekend in Bahrain to drive in F1, Mick appeared undecided.
“Any opportunity would be great to hop into the car,” he said. “F1 is the goal and F1 is the dream so the more I get into it will be obviously more of an opportunity for me to show myself in that category.
“But obviously for me, the focus is on F2, try to finish that on a high, try to focus on that championship. F1 is not a focus on that side.”
