Chinese GP sprint qualifying delayed after fires repeatedly break out on track

FORMULA ONE was delayed by a fire at the Chinese Grand Prix.

During Friday's Sprint Qualifying session a fire sensationally broke out on the grass beside the track.

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It was the second time a fire had broke out trackside after an incident during Free Practice 1 earlier on.

The incident is FP1 saw the session red flagged with the grass ablaze at Turn 7.

After stewards dealt with the fire the practice session resumed.

However, a SECOND fire then broke out at Turn 5 of the Shanghai Circuit.

This second fire happened right at the end of SQ1, which was replacing the practice sessions typically seen on an F1 weekend.

The blaze therefore saw SQ2 delayed.

SQ2 eventually got underway at 15:54 local time.

In terms of the cause of the blaze, Sky Sports F1 reporter Ted Kravitz explained: "Just on the apex of that corner specifically, the cars do bottom out and they are producing sparks.

"And with the wind blowing where it is - so just downwind - I can absolutely imagine that the reason for the fire was that.

"There was a spark that came off the car's skid blocks and then travelled downwind a bit and then hit that patch of dry grass."

The repeat incident also caught 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg off guard, with him saying: "It's on fire again, unbelievable!

"In the corner, there's a big bump on the ground and all the cars are launching big sparks from under the car, and the wind is pushing the sparks into the track at that point and putting the grass on fire.

"We've never seen that before."

Five drivers, including Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, were placed under investigation following the drama for failing to match the maximum delta time on their out-laps.

F1 was returning to China for the first time since 2019, with the Covid pandemic causing the race to not be on the calendar - with it included on 2023's until it was forced to be cut last minute.

After racing was resumed, rain started falling soon after.

Hamilton was pipped to pole position for the sprint race by Lando Norris after the McLaren driver had his lap time reinstated following its initial deletion for exceeding track limits.

This weekend sprint qualifying does not impact Sunday's race, with a separate qualifying session being held on tomorrow for it.

Instead, sprint qualifying will determine the grid for the sprint race which is also tomorrow.

More to follow.

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