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What should have been a normal Formula 1 practice session for Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka International Circuit took a bizarre turn on Friday when the track twice caught fire, forcing a halt to Free Practice 2. The incidents occurred toward the end of the scheduled 60-minute practice session.
The cause appeared to be unseasonably dry weather which caused the grass around the track to become brown and dry. The dry grass, combined with sparks from the underside of the Formula 1 cars hitting the track, caused the areas to ignite and quickly spread, leading Formula 1 to throw a red flag and stop the session. The Japanese Grand Prix previously took place in the back half of the season, but it was moved to April beginning in 2023 to better align with the rest of the schedule.
Another Red Flag!🚩
A very quickly spreading fire on the side of the track at the end of FP2 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/7YDcqRVCVW
— WTF1 (@wtf1official) April 4, 2025
FIA Issues Statement After Random Track Fires Halt Practice Session In Japan
On Friday evening, the sport’s governing body, the FIA, released a statement about how it would manage the fires as the race weekend progresses.
“While we continue to look into the fires that occurred during FP2, our focus before tomorrow will be on taking preemptive measures,” it stated. “The grass has been cut as short as possible, and loose, dried grass has been removed from affected areas. Prior to tomorrow’s sessions, the grass will be dampened, and specific response teams will be stationed around the track.”
Current points leader and championship favorite Lando Norris paced the strange practice session. Thankfully for F1, both fires occurred inside the final 10 minutes of the session, meaning that teams more or less ran their planned practice programs.
Both a third practice session and qualifying are scheduled for Saturday, with the third race of the season set for Sunday.