Jules Bianchi passes away following accident at 2014 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix

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If they get onto lap 3, it's an official race and if the rain stops the race, half points will be awarded until 75% completion.
 
Blitz24
Do they abandon the weekend or reschedule?
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If the race can't be run, they would probably have to abandon it. There's no real available date.

It's a question of whether they abandon outright, or run a minimal distance and award half points. Neither is desirable, but for different reasons.
 
jake2013guy
If they get onto lap 3, it's an official race and if the rain stops the race, half points will be awarded until 75% completion.
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I cannot imagine running 2 laps behind the safety car would go well for F1. Probably would be worse reaction than the debacle at Indy years ago.
 
Blitz24
I cannot imagine running 2 laps behind the safety car would go well for F1. Probably would be worse reaction than the debacle at Indy years ago.
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If the FIA had suggested the idea, then it's Honda's fault for not allowing it to happen.
 
Blame is on both sides. But I find it silly that nobody even envisioned a contingency plan until when... Thursday?
 
Like I said, FIA offered to have the race start at 1100 local time, but Honda refused to adjust the event schedule. They had a plan that Honda didn't agree with.

Blitz24
Blame is on both sides. But I find it silly that nobody even envisioned a contingency plan until when... Thursday?
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Hurricanes/typhoons aren't easy to predict the track of days... even hours out.
 
I would think a major typhoon making landfall is a justifiable excuse to cancel the race altogether. Safety should take precedent over a sporting event.
 
Tweet I've just seen
Charlie Whiting just told us: If weather reports are correct, there will be no race today. More and more rain expected. Too dangerous.
 
The race likely isn't going to happen. They might have been able to get some laps in hours ago when the FIA wanted the early start, but it's getting to the point that it's going to be too wet to even roll the cars out of the garages.
 
jake2013guy
If the FIA had suggested the idea, then it's Honda's fault for not allowing it to happen.
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Like I said, the rain has been heavy enough all day that running the race early would likely result in the same outcome as sticking to the original start time.

It would also be a major pain for broadcasters; satellites were booked up weeks ago, networks would need to make drastic changes to their programming, and so on and so forth.

Blitz24
Blame is on both sides. But I find it silly that nobody even envisioned a contingency plan until when... Thursday?
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It wasn't until Thursday that reliable models of Phanfone started to be made. Prior to Thursday is was an aggressive low pressure system, not a typhoon.

outlaw4rc
I would think a major typhoon making landfall is a justifiable excuse to cancel the race altogether. Safety should take precedent over a sporting event.
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It's not making landfall - it's only the edges of the typhoon that are reaching the coast. The storm isn't expected to cross over until late tomorrow.
 
GTPorsche
Like I said, FIA offered to have the race start at 1100 local time, but Honda refused to adjust the event schedule. They had a plan that Honda didn't agree with.



Hurricanes/typhoons aren't easy to predict the track of days... even hours out.
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How recent did Honda allow the move up?
 
I dont know why Honda would oppose bumping up the start time, that sounds strange. I would think its a TV issue. Mercedes said they could run on intermediates earliers didn't they? Could have been run okay earlier. Now it still looks ok on the radar but the circuit conditions you have to see to judge.
 
jake2013guy
Tweet I've just seen
Charlie Whiting just told us: If weather reports are correct, there will be no race today. More and more rain expected. Too dangerous.
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I would be damn disappointed if there's no race today but safety first! 👍

When was the last wet Suzaka race were held?
 
Rich S
I dont know why Honda would oppose bumping up the start time, that sounds strange. I would think its a TV issue.
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TV time really wouldn't be an issue I'd guess. They could preempt whatever was on (or not, I don't know the local Japanese channel for the race). I know in Europe it won't be an issue (4 AM start if pushed up?) US wouldn't have an issue either.
 
Rich S
I dont know why Honda would oppose bumping up the start time, that sounds strange. I would think its a TV issue. Mercedes said they could run on intermediates earliers didn't they? Could have been run okay earlier. Now it still looks ok on the radar but the circuit conditions you have to see to judge.
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I've seen a tweet that says that Honda said it was a cause of loss of spectators.
 
ZEROX
I would be damn disappointed if there's no race today but safety first! 👍

When was the last wet Suzaka race were held?
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I'm pretty sure it's not since 1994.
 
jake2013guy
I've seen a tweet that says that Honda said it was a cause of loss of spectators.
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Because NOT moving up the start time and letting fans potentially drive home in that would definitely NOT cause any negative impacts or spectator loss.
 
jake2013guy
I've seen a tweet that says that Honda said it was a cause of loss of spectators.
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And if the race gets cancelled, there will be no spectators.

facepalm4.gif
 
GTPorsche
Which means they'd have to be refunded.
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Ticket refunds comes down to ticket legalese and Japanese law. Not sure how that would play out in this situation.
 
True.

Either way, the excuse about spectators is nonsense.. considering they're there already....
 
GTPorsche
True.

Either way, the excuse about spectators is nonsense.. considering they're there already....
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I have a feeling that even this late the move up of 2 hours wouldn't really result in much loss. Most of the fans who wouldn't be coming for a race at 1300 would probably still not come for the race at 1100. Unless you lived within 30 minutes of the track, going for any reason would be an unwise move.
 
Here are some visuals for the storm:
(edit: it looks like iOS 8 is broken and won't let me upload photos :rolleyes:)


Just wondering, in indycar and NASCAR races, races have been run the next day if they are rained out and have not completed half the distance (NASCAR). Can F1 re-schedule a race for Monday morning in Japan so that the fans don't have to feel like they threw a few hundred dollars into a fire? That should still give the teams time to get to Sochi.
 
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Adam Cooper@adamcooperF19m
If the Japanese GP doesn't happen today Bernie should run it on Sunday morning in Abu Dhabi, then someone can score 75 points in one day

:lol:
 
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