Trackside fires at Japan GP forces F1 to take drastic ‘pre-emptive measures’

Friday practice was red-flagged twice after a series of fires broke out on the trackside grass at Suzuka

Two trackside fires broke out in practice at the Japanese Grand Prix on Friday (Sky Sports F1 )

The FIA has announced a number of “pre-emptive measures” to eradicate the trackside fires which curtailed practice at the Japanese Grand Prix.

In a bizarre situation to conclude Friday’s action, patches of grass on the side of the track caught fire as a result of the sparks generated by the underside of the cars.

Coupled with a gusty wind at Suzuka, a small patch of grass caught fire at Degner One before another fire broke out on the grass near the Spoon Curve section of the circuit. Both incidents resulted in red flags and session stoppages.

With no rain expected until Sunday morning at Suzuka, F1’s governing body have confirmed that the grass will be cut “as short as possible” and will also be dampened ahead of qualifying on Saturday.

An FIA statement read: “While we continue to look into the fires that occurred during FP2, our focus before tomorrow will be on taking preemptive measures.

“The grass has been cut as short as possible, and loose, dried grass has been removed from affected areas.

“Prior to tomorrow's sessions, the grass will be dampened, and specific response teams will be stationed around the track.”

The fire incidents triggered two of four red flags in second practice on Friday, following incidents involving Jack Doohan and Fernando Alonso.

Australian rookie Doohan experienced a massive 185mph crash at turn one, forcing a near half-an-hour stoppage. The 22-year-old was taken to the medical centre afterwards but escaped unharmed, and his Alpine team have since confirmed that he did not suffer a concussion.

Sparks from the rear-underside of the cars were blown onto nearby grass (Getty Images)

The marshals were forced to put out the trackside fires during the red flag (Sky Sports F1)

As for veteran driver Alonso, he caught the grass midway through a flying lap and spun his Aston Martin car into the gravel.

On the timesheets, it was a strong opening day for championship leaders McLaren, with Lando Norris quickest in FP1 and Oscar Piastri top of the leaderboard in the disrupted FP2.

Yuki Tsunoda impressed on debut for Red Bull, finishing FP1 just a tenth of a second off teammate Max Verstappen. Lewis Hamilton was fourth-fastest for Ferrari.

Qualifying is at 7am (BST) on Saturday, with the race at 6am on Sunday.