FIA chiefs baffled by fires at Chinese GP amid fears F1 race could be stopped

19 April 2024 , 11:40

806     0

Two fires were caused at the side of the Shanghai track during Friday's running (Image: Sky Sports)

FIA chiefs are still trying to figure out why grass by the Shanghai International Circuit caught fire twice during Friday's running at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Rain in Shanghai this week has made the area wet and there has been little by way of bright, hot sunshine to dry it out. Yet, two fires started while Formula 1 cars were on track during the first day of on-circuit action.

The first saw the only practice session of the weekend red-flagged so a marshal could put out the flames with an extinguisher. And a second fire was spotted later on Friday, during qualifying for the Sprint race.

Neither fire put any personnel in clear danger, nor did they cause any significant damage to the circuit. But there are concerns that more such incidents could cause safety cars or more red flags during the two races this weekend.

TV cameras spotted sparks coming off cars which flew into the grass and appeared to cause the flames. And that is the FIA's theory, as the governing body said: "After a first review of the video footage, it seems like it is sparks coming from the cars igniting the fire in the grass run-off area."

Inside the driver call which upset Red Bull and changed the course of F1 history

But most other circuits have grass by the track and this is not an issue that has appeared elsewhere. Nor has it happened in Shanghai before, though this is the first time the current generation of ground-effect F1 cars has run on this track - it is the sport's first visit to China since 2019.

So, while the sparks appear to be the cause of the fires, the assumption is there must be some form of catalyst present which is setting the grass alight when the sparks land. But the FIA has yet to figure out what that might be.

The Shanghai circuit is built on a swamp and so one possibility is that gas may be present and that could be what is being ignited. It could also be that chemical treatments applied to the grass ahead of this weekend's event could be the cause.

FIA officials inspected the area between practice and Sprint qualifying but that did not lead to the cause being discovered. More inspections are planned for the evening in the hope of diagnosing the problem so that a solution can be found.

The Sprint race takes place early on Saturday, followed by qualifying for the main event. The Grand Prix itself is scheduled for Sunday as usual.

Daniel Moxon