Another bizarre fire STOPS action at Chinese Grand Prix

Sprint qualifying at the Chinese Grand Prix saw a recurrence of an unusual disruption that marred practice earlier on the same day.

The one and only practice session of the day was red flagged, causing a five-minute delay, after a fire broke out on the grass at the edge of the circuit heading into turn seven.

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This same issue at the same turn led to the start of SQ2 being delayed, with marshals rushing to put the fire out.

In practice, Sky Sports F1 pundit Ted Kravitz revealed that it was sparks coming from the skidblocks of Formula 1 cars in the high speed sections that were causing the fires, and later vowed to find out why 'Chinese grass is more flammable'.

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Friday disruptions in China

The fires have marred the early part of F1's first sprint event of the season, with the sport heading back to China for the first time since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It has meant that, in a vital day for teams with no relevant data available ahead of the weekend, there have been multiple disruptions, providing yet more uncertainty to the Chinese GP.

Rain in the same session led to an early end for some drivers, but would have helped with the grass fires, potentially counteracting the effects of the dry surface mixing with sparks.

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