Formula 1: Practice session cancelled in Nurburgring due to bad weather, no maiden drive for Mick Schumacher

Nurburgring: The first practice session for the Eifel Grand Prix was cancelled on Friday because of bad weather, keeping Michael Schumacher’s son Mick from his first official drive as part of a Formula One race weekend.

Low cloud and mist made for poor visibility around the Nurburgring track and it was declared unsafe for the medical helicopter to take off before time ran out for the 90-minute session. The helicopter is required under F1 safety rules and must be able to fly any casualties to the hospital at high speed.

Cold and wet weather is expected for all three days of the race weekend at the hilly, forested Nurburgring track in western Germany. Team staff wore large coats and wool hats along with their mandatory masks, while spectators tried to keep warm in the stands.

Championship leader Lewis Hamilton is aiming to win his 91st career F1 race on Sunday. That would put him equal with Michael Schumacher’s record.

Formula Two standings leader Mick Schumacher was scheduled to take part in the first practice session for the first time, borrowing Antonio Giovinazzi’s Alfa Romeo. Another F2 title challenger, British driver Callum Ilott, was with the Haas team for the session, assigned to Romain Grosjean’s car.

Both Schumacher and Ilott are part of Ferrari’s development program and they were placed with teams that use Ferrari engines.

The second session is scheduled for later Friday.