Early practice on Friday morning had to be red flagged after a fire broke out on the grass inside Turn 7 of the Shanghai International Circuit.
The same section then caught fire at the end of the first sprint qualifying session, leading to a brief delay to the start of SQ2.
Following the first problem on Friday morning, the FIA visited the site ahead of qualifying to try to understand exactly what caused the grass to catch fire.
An initial analysis based on video footage suggested that sparks thrown from cars were thrown onto the grass, which then caught fire.
However, this provided only a partial explanation for the phenomenon, as the scale of the fires caused is much greater than would normally be expected from a grass, especially after a heavy downpour on Wednesday had moistened the soil.
Various theories have emerged about the additional catalyst that is responsible for the sparks that ignite the largest fires.
Marshals rush to put out the fire on the grass
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
One theory is that because the Shanghai railway is built on a swamp, methane could seep through the ground, which would then be ignited and cause the fires.
Another idea is that the grass has been chemically treated to improve its appearance, and that is the problem.
However, the FIA’s initial physical inspections on Friday did not shed much light on the situation, as there appeared to be no unusual odors or evidence of anything unexpected in the area.
However, with the fire returning during qualifying, the FIA plans to carry out a more detailed examination in the evening to try to better understand what is happening and find the real cause.
The FIA will obviously be keen to avoid any fire which would result in the need for a stoppage of the session on Saturday, or even the need for a safety car or other intervention in the race.
The fire problem is one never before encountered in Shanghai, although this is the first year that the new generation of ground-effect cars, which throw more sparks when driving close to the ground, have been running here.
Early practice on Friday morning had to be red flagged after a fire broke out on the grass inside Turn 7 of the Shanghai International Circuit.
The same section then caught fire at the end of the first sprint qualifying session, leading to a brief delay to the start of SQ2.
Following the first problem on Friday morning, the FIA visited the site ahead of qualifying to try to understand exactly what caused the grass to catch fire.
An initial analysis based on video footage suggested that sparks thrown from cars were thrown onto the grass, which then caught fire.
However, this provided only a partial explanation for the phenomenon, as the scale of the fires caused is much greater than would normally be expected from a grass, especially after a heavy downpour on Wednesday had moistened the soil.
Various theories have emerged about the additional catalyst that is responsible for the sparks that ignite the largest fires.
Marshals rush to put out the fire on the grass
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
One theory is that because the Shanghai railway is built on a swamp, methane could seep through the ground, which would then be ignited and cause the fires.
Another idea is that the grass has been chemically treated to improve its appearance, and that is the problem.
However, the FIA’s initial physical inspections on Friday did not shed much light on the situation, as there appeared to be no unusual odors or evidence of anything unexpected in the area.
However, with the fire returning during qualifying, the FIA plans to carry out a more detailed examination in the evening to try to better understand what is happening and find the real cause.
The FIA will obviously be keen to avoid any fire which would result in the need for a stoppage of the session on Saturday, or even the need for a safety car or other intervention in the race.
The fire problem is one never before encountered in Shanghai, although this is the first year that the new generation of ground-effect cars, which throw more sparks when driving close to the ground, have been running here.