How could the weather change the Eifel GP weekend?

The first and second free practice sessions of the German Grand Prix were cancelled. Saturday holds the third free practice and qualification scheduled, but the FIA may choose to throw in the towel. Just one hour of driving at the Nurburgring to determine the starting position is not much.

The F1 teams can get used to it, as a two-day event is also planned for this season at the Imola circuit. The FIA has several options for the rest of this weekend in Germany. GPBlog discusses a few of them.

Extend free practice

The only free practice session at Imola on 31 October lasts an hour and a half. The international motor sport federation can choose to extend the third free practice session by half an hour. The drivers will then have a total of one and a half hours to get used to the circuit. 

In 2013 the Nurburgring was driven for the last time, so not many drivers have experience on the German circuit. Only Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Perez, Daniel Ricciardo, Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean were in the series then. The other thirteen drivers only know the track from the simulator.

On top of this there seems to be problems with the Pirelli tyres. It is very cold this weekend and so it is difficult to get the rubber up to temperature. Too little track preparation time can lead to dangerous situations, something the FIA wants to avoid at all times.

Moving the qualification to Sunday morning

They could add additional free practice sessions on Saturday and therefore move qualifying to Sunday. There is room for that, as the Formula 2, Formula 3 and Porsche Supercup will not be present at the Nurburgring this weekend. It is possible that the race could start an hour or more later than the 13:10 which is scheduled at the moment.

Everything stays as it is

They could also stick to the original plan. In that case the drivers will have one hour to find the right setup for qualifying and the race. Quick choices will then have to be made, because there will not be enough time for long runs and qualifying laps.

The FIA haven't said anything about how they will fill the rest of the GP weekend in Germany. What do you think the race management should do?