19 April 2024 , 07:12
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Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft couldn't hide his shock as a bizarre fire at the Chinese Grand Prix track saw practice called to a halt.
Just a quarter of the way through the only practice session of the weekend in Shanghai, flames were spotted on a patch of grass next to the track. Race control quickly saw the danger and red-flagged the session.
A marshal ran to the scene and used an extinguisher to put out the flames. But, when the action was allowed to resume shortly after, the damage was clear with a noticeable patch of grass burnt to a crisp.
Fortunately, there was no damage done to the track itself which has been repainted ahead of this weekend's action. Croft has been Sky's lead F1 commentator for years and has seen a lot in that time, but even he was surprised by the stoppage.
"There's a fire by the side of the track - the grass has caught alight," he said on the broadcast. "I don't think I have ever, ever seen grass catch fire by the side of the track. It's a small grass fire at the moment. I'd not even like to begin to speculate on that one."
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Heavy rain the previous day added to the surprise that the grass was so flammable. And it happened again in qualifying for the Sprint race when flames were once again spotted at the side of the track.
But pit lane reporter Ted Kravitz offered a possible explanation in response to his colleague Croft's incredulity. Kravitz said: "The cars bottom out on the apex of that corner specifically. The cars bottom out, and they are producing sparks. With the wind blowing where it is, I can absolutely imagine that the reason for that fire was that there was a spark coming off the car's skid blocks, travelled downwind and hit the patch of dry grass."
There was another surprise at the end of the session as Lance Stroll found himself at the top of the timesheets. But, in truth, it was a session in which the teams and drivers learned very little.
And Pierre Gasly was vocal about his frustrations as he took to the radio at the end of practice to complain. "Guys, this is not acceptable," he ranted. "I haven't learned anything! Absolutely nothing!"
While the same was true for his rivals up and down the grid, the Frenchman was particularly compromised by issues on his car. Alpine later confirmed: "Pierre's FP1 session was compromised with an insulation issue with ERS [the Energy Recovery System].