Pierre Gasly fire stops crucial Azerbaijan session

Pierre Gasly, Alpine, Azerbaijan — Photo: © LAT Images

Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Gasly fire stops crucial Azerbaijan session

Pierre Gasly suffered an engine failure early on during FP1

Harry Smith

Friday 28 April 2023 11:57 Updated: 12:02

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Pierre Gasly endured a nightmare first practice at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after his Alpine caught fire after 15 minutes into the session.

The French driver ran wide at turn one just into the session before flames appeared from the back of the No.10 Alpine car.

The team has confirmed that this was caused by a suspected hydraulic leak after his car lost pressure moments before the fire broke out.

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That incident put an end to Gasly's session, costing the Alpine team valuable track time during a weekend in which maximising practice sessions is more important than ever.

With Gasly's car stranded and ablaze, the session was red flagged with all cars forced to abort their programmes and return to the pit lane.

Marshalls rushed to the scene of the incident to extinguish the smoking Alpine as Gasly watched on in frustration.

Alpine's frustrations continue following a devastating Australian Grand Prix

Double damage

The red flag spelt the end of Gasly's free practice session, but it was also bad news for another driver.

Kevin Magnussen's Haas car was also stranded on track after the Danish driver suffered an issue on the run down to T1.

With both drivers out of action for the rest of the FP1 session, their respective engineers will face a tough turnaround to get the cars ready for Friday afternoon's qualifying session.