Williams mechanics found themselves up a creek without a boat
The ballroom dancing display put on by Red Bull drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat was the highlight of the impromptu fun, with Hurricane Patiricia’s wind and rain keeping the cars off-track.
Elsewhere there was much other tomfoolery on part of the teams to reward the fans for braving the elements, with Williams mechanics setting up a makeshift boat and Toro Rosso drivers Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen playing ten-pin bowling, using Red Bull cans as skittles.
Not even the Ferrari personnel could uniformly maintain such stoic professionalism as their seniors would like in the face of the grey, grey Saturday.
Steady on: This home-made snorkel was the start and the end of the fun at Ferrari
Whether the sport can currently maintain so lofty a stance as Ferrari would evidently prefer is a moot point, during a time of significant turbulence in terms of rule changes and a perceived decline in competitive standards across the engines and the tyres the cars now use.
It could well be the case that Ferrari misread which way the wind was blowing in Austin.
Rain-soaked F1 fans wait patiently for some track action in Austin
Thankfully the weather turned in time for a thrilling Sunday double-header of qualifying and race, with Lewis Hamilton helping himself to another win and his third world championship crown.
Meanwhile the seriously serious Ferrari team scowled their way to a podium in the form of Sebastian Vettel’s third place.
With such a rich history and relentlessly high standards, however, it will doubtless take more than this before anyone cracks a smile back in Maranello.