FIA rules out bringing F1's Chinese Grand Prix forward to Saturday

Low cloud on Friday meant the medical helicopter could not land at a nearby hospital, and as an ambulance could not have reached the hospital on land within the 20-minute limit the FIA could not allow cars to run for most of the day.

Amid concerns of further bad weather on Sunday, teams had considered the possibility of shifting the race to Saturday when the forecast is better.

A decision about the potential schedule change was due to be made at Friday night's drivers' briefing at the Shanghai circuit.

But with the FIA confident the weather for Sunday will not be as bad as some have feared - with the cloud set to be higher and windier conditions expected - the idea of a change was swiftly ruled out.

Whiting told team managers and drivers that the timetable for the weekend was going ahead without any alteration.

Haas driver Kevin Magnussen said: "It looks like the weather forecast is saying the clouds will be a bit higher up, so that the chance of the helicopter being able to land will be bigger on Sunday."

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said he would have been open to a Saturday race but felt the FIA made the right call.

"I think stability of the format is important, and rather than racing on Saturday we should find out why we couldn't drive today, why couldn't the helicopter land, and if that's the case, which hospital could we take in case of an emergency," Wolff told Autosport.

"But if it's not feasible, I would do the Saturday format.

"Maybe it would have been a good opportunity to try some stuff - no testing!"