Poor weather in Shanghai resulted in just 17 minutes of running in FP1 and FP2 combined. The conditions meant that the medical helicopter was unable to fly and therefore the whole of FP2 was cancelled on safety grounds. In the limited running they got in FP1, Verstappen set the fastest lap but it was by no means representative of performance.
Wet and misty weather forced FP1 to be stopped after just 10 drivers had set times. After a 40 minute stoppage, the session was resumed, with Verstappen setting the quickest time. However, before anyone could challenge his time, the session was red flagged again after news came in of the local airport being shut due to the weather. The session was not resumed after this and the teams were left to hope the conditions would improve before FP2.
But, with no improvement in conditions FP2 could no be started, as the safety of the sport relies on the medical helicopter being able to fly. This resulted in the unusual instance of a McLaren topping the timesheet, as Vandoorne, with the lowest driver number was placed at the top!
It means the teams will be going into Saturday with no qualifying or race simulations completed. This should make for an exciting FP3 and qualifying, as the teams attempt to gain as much data as they can in the limited running they will get tomorrow.