A bizarre scene on Friday morning on the Shanghai F1 circuit. During the first and only practice session for the Chinese GP, the grass was on fire, and a few hours later exactly the same thing happened during the first part of the sprint qualifying.
The fire at turn five was quickly extinguished by the stewards, but the sprint qualifying was postponed on hold. It is said to have been caused by the drivers' own cars, which left sparks on the circuit. Everyone took to the pit lane again, causing the second part of the sprint qualifying to be delayed by a few minutes.
In any case, it was very remarkable, because a few hours earlier the grass of the F1 circuit was already on fire. This time we saw smoke and flames at turn five. The fire thoroughly disrupted what was expected to be a quiet qualifying for the drivers. Due to the delay, many had to hurry to get into the top ten, but the rain decided otherwise.
Lando Norris takes pole for sprint race
Ultimately, Lando Norris (McLaren) can start the sprint race from pole position on Saturday. In the rain-affected qualifying, the 24-year-old Belgian-born Briton was 1.261 faster than his compatriot Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes). Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) and Max Verstappen (Red Bull) can park their cars on the second row of the grid.
The first of six sprint races this season starts on Saturday at 5:00 am (11:00 am in Shanghai).
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