SHANGHAI: The sole practice session for the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai was interrupted by a small fire next to the track today, leading to a red flag.
Flames could be seen on a patch of grass near turn seven of the Shanghai International Circuit just over 15 minutes into the session.
The fire was quickly extinguished by a marshal, leaving a blackened circle of grass, before the session resumed minutes later.
Formula 1 returns to Shanghai this week in China’s first grand prix since 2019, with the past four races cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
At the time of the incident, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was the fastest, setting an early lap time of 1:39.110s on medium tyres.