Rain and hail in Shanghai on Wednesday

(GMM) It is raining heavily and even hailing on Wednesday as the F1 paddock begins to fill ahead of the Chinese grand prix weekend.

With official proceedings set to kick off at the Shanghai circuit on Thursday, more rain and cold conditions are expected.

The good news is that sunnier, drier and warmer weather is forecast for the first two days of track action on Friday and Saturday.

But the forecast is for a more inclement Sunday, even though the highest chance of race-day rain is for the morning.