MONTMELO, Spain -- Haas boss Guenther Steiner fears Formula One teams could lose at least one full day of testing this week due to the worsening weather at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona.
This week is the first of two pre-season test at the track but the grid's 10 teams have been hampered by bitterly cold conditions. Snowflakes also fell on both days.
On Monday and Tuesday there were spells where teams could run -- and many did, accumulating some decent mileage in the process -- but the forecast for Wednesday suggests rain and cold weather will linger throughout the day.
With teams also lacking spare parts at this stage of testing teams are showing a reluctance to take too many risks.
Steiner does not expect to see much testing on Wednesday and fears the poor weather could roll over into Thursday.
"I think so. It looks like it," he said when asked if the next two days could be a write off. "I think it's cold again and raining all day -- when I checked in the morning it's snowing again until 9am to 10am. It's not really snow but it will be cold. I think it will be another day like this.
"Apparently tomorrow is wet all day and if it is wet and only four or five degrees there is no point going out there. You don't learn anything, we would never run in these circumstance and the only thing you do is risk the cars and being the first test of the season we are lean on spares and we cannot risk it. At the moment it doesn't look much better on Thursday. It's getting warmer, but still wet."
Pirelli's F1 compounds struggle to operate if they are not kept at at least 90 degrees Celsius. That process is complicated by the cold weather and track temperatures which have hit the circuit this week. Steiner pointed out how the sessions unfolded to highlight how difficult it has been for teams to produce running of any substance.
"Apparently it's brutal out there, if the tyres are going down on temperature when you take them out of the blankets it's just like being on ice. You see it from the times, they start on 1:28s and then work their way down because to get the heat in the tyres that's the only thing they are doing.
"Rumours have circulated all week that F1 could extend this week's test -- which was originally slated to run from Monday to Thursday -- to a fifth day on Friday. However, with Williams set for a filming day on Friday and teams already set on plans to return to factories in the four days between tests one and two, finding a consensus to shift the schedule has always seemed unlikely.
"I think a few people tried to do something different but there was always something, from somewhere, [saying] 'No!'. Can you imagine two of us agreeing on something, let alone ten?
"And it needs to be unanimous. I think it would need to change something in the sporting regulation, because we cannot just say we change something. I think the FIA would do it bit we need to apply to it but if we can't come to an agreement between us, no point to get the FIA involved."