Mysterious Grass Fire and High-Intensity Crash Trigger Four Red Flags in Japanese GP Free Practice

The Japanese Grand Prix’s Free Practice 2 session was marked by four red flags, two of which occurred due to unexplained grass fires. The first red flag came after Alpine Formula One driver Jack Doohan lost the rear end and crashed straight into the barriers at high speed.

The high intensity of the crash meant people were concerned about Doohan. Fortunately, he seemed alright after stepping out of the car and later walked toward the safety car. It is being reported that his crash occurred after he missed shutting the DRS flap on his rear wing. With insufficient downforce at the rear, his Alpine A525 F1 car spun wildly and hit the barriers.

F1 veteran Fernando Alonso caused the second red flag after his Aston Martin AMR25 went over a patch of grass at Turn 8, causing him to go off track. Alonso managed to control the car on the gravel, which appeared like he was drifting on dirt in slow motion. Unfortunately, the car was then beached, ending the session for the Spaniard.

The last two red flags were caused by trackside fires on the grass for reasons that are yet to be known. RacingNews365 suggests the grass may have become highly flammable because of the Bitumen that is used on the track surface.

Despite the hindrances, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri managed to set the fastest time of 1:28.114, followed by his teammate Lando Norris. Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar set the third-fastest time, followed by Lewis Hamilton in fourth.

Free Practice 1, which occurred much earlier today, marked Yuki Tsunoda’s first run in Red Bull’s RB21 F1 car. He replaced Liam Lawson following the Chinese GP. Speaking on his debut Red Bull run at his home race venue in Suzuka, Tsunoda said:

“FP1 was better than expected. A good start for myself.

“FP2, I didn’t set a lap time. I think there is still a lot of work to do. Maybe I slightly struggled or there is something we have to look at more in the data from FP2 but so far, overall, it’s ok. I just have to build up the confidence a bit more.”

Tsunoda was then asked how different it was to drive the RB21 on track compared to the simulator. He responded:

“It’s a bit different to the simulator, what I felt, to be honest. Maybe a little bit more than I expected in terms of car feeling.

“I knew that it is always a bit different in the real car and it was just a little bit more exaggerated in the real car and felt a bit more tricky.”