Guenther Steiner: F1 hasn't made mistake in scheduling Eifel GP in October

Haas team boss Guenther Steiner says Formula 1 hasn’t made a mistake in scheduling this weekend’s Eifel Grand Prix at the Nurburgring despite the treacherous weather forecast for this weekend.

Opening practice for the Eifel GP has been cancelled after the medical helicopter was unable to fly due to heavy fog.

With the nearest hospital 20 minutes away by road, the FIA regulations state the helicopter must be able to fly so it can get to it in a timely fashion in the event of an emergency.

Poor visibility at the Nurburgring meant no running took place in FP1 with the afternoon session unlikely to take place should conditions not improve in time.

Steiner believes F1 was right to schedule a race in Germany for October given the difficulties it had constructing a substantial F1 2020 calendar given the global COVID-19 pandemic.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a mistake,” Steiner said. “This year, nothing is a mistake. Holding any grand prix is a success in my opinion. If you’re a beggar, we cannot be the chooser. We needed to get something in and I think this was the best option. It’s not the first time the weather was like this.

“Maybe tomorrow will be better and tomorrow with the rain in the race, who actually cares? I think at the moment it’s the fog with the helicopter that is the problem, not the track itself. But this year any race we can get in at any time I think is a win for us.”

Ferrari junior and Formula 2 title contender Callum Ilott was set to make an appearance for Haas in FP1 before the session was ultimately cancelled.