India GP: Final practice delayed due to smog

Final practice for the Formula One Grand Prix was twice delayed on Saturday due to smog shrouding the circuit and preventing the medical helicopter from operating.

Organisers postponed the start by 15 minutes and then ordered another five minute delay due to the hazy conditions at the Buddh International Circuit built on farmland to the south-east of New Delhi.

The problems echoed those experienced by MotoGP in Japan, where practice for the penultimate round of that championship had to be cancelled on Friday due to rain and fog grounding the medical helicopters needed in the case of an accident.

Sunday's race is expected to clinch a fourth successive title for Red Bull's 26-year-old German Sebastian Vettel, who was fastest in both practice sessions on Friday, with three races remaining.

Vettel leads Ferrari's Fernando Alonso by 90 points with a maximum 100 still to be won.

Image: Jean-Eric Vergne of France and his Scuderia Toro Rosso colleagues pose for a team photograph before the qualifying session for the Indian Formula One Grand Prix at Buddh International Circuit in Noida, on Saturday

Photograph: Paul Gilham/Getty Images