During the first practice on Friday morning at the Shanghai International Circuit, a fire broke out on the grass near Turn 7, causing the session to be stopped.
The same area caught fire again at the end of the first sprint qualifying session, causing a brief delay before the start of the next session.
The FIA, which oversees Formula 1, looked into the issue after the first fire on Friday morning. They watched videos and thought that sparks from the cars might have landed on the grass and started the fire. But the fires were bigger than expected, even though it rained heavily on Wednesday and the ground was wet.
People have come up with different ideas about why the fires are bigger than usual. Some think that methane gas from the ground, especially because the track is built on a swamp, could be causing the fires. Others think that chemicals used to make the grass look nice might be the problem.
However, when the FIA checked the area on Friday, they didn’t find anything unusual like strange smells or evidence of something wrong.
Since the fires happened again during qualifying, the FIA will investigate further in the evening to find out what’s really causing them.
The FIA wants to make sure the fires don’t disrupt Saturday’s sessions or the race. This is the first time they’ve had this problem in Shanghai, especially since the new cars used in Formula 1 this year create more sparks when they run close to the ground.
