Low clouds on Friday meant the medical helicopter could not land at a nearby hospital, and with it too far for an ambulance to reach within a 20-minute limit, the FIA could not allow cars to run.

Amid concerns of further bad weather on Sunday, teams had considered the possibility of a change of plans, which included the idea of the race shifting to Saturday.

A decision on the possibility of a change of race time was due to be made at Friday night's drivers' briefing in Shanghai.

But with the FIA confident that 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."