News just come in that might affect Renault and McLaren’s ability to run in practice on Friday.
It appears that Castrol have had issues shipping engine oil to Japan due to the recent Typhoon that hit the asian coast at the weekend. The delay has meant that the shipment was late arriving and is now stuck at customs in Tokyo, the hold up appears indefinite.
Should the hold up continue, there’s a very real chance that both McLaren and Renault won’t be running tomorrow at all. Red Bull, the other user of Renault Power Units, won’t be affected by the delay as they partnered with Exxon Mobil.
German journalist confirmed the reports this morning with a Tweet:
Renault & McLaren still waiting for engine oil (Castrol). Shipping had been delayed by the typhoon. Now it seems to be stuck in customs at Tokyo. No running on Friday if it doesn't arrive in time. Red Bull not affected as they are using Exxon/Mobil.#AMuS #JapaneseGP #Suzuka #F1
— Tobi Grüner 🏁 (@tgruener) October 4, 2018
Typhoon Trami made landfall on Sunday at 20:00 local time (11:00 GMT) near the western city of Osaka, with gusts of up to 216 km/h (134 mph), killing 2 people and injuring at least 120.
On Monday, commuters faced long delays as trains were delayed or cancelled because of trees blown on to tracks.
Kansai Airport, in Osaka, closed its runways when the storm swept in but reopened them on Monday. However, an estimated 200 flights were disrupted by the typhoon.
About 400,000 homes and offices were still without power on Monday.
