Several grass fires wreak havoc at Japanese Grand Prix qualifying as Max Verstappen sets new lap record

(CNN) — Grass fires continued to wreak havoc at the Japanese Grand Prix on Saturday as practice and qualifying sessions were halted three times when three separate blazes broke out.

The dramatic scenes came after Friday’s practice session had seen four red flags, two of which were due to trackside fires, apparently caused by sparks from the cars’ skid blocks landing on the dry grass. All five fires across the two days were extinguished quickly by race marshals.

“While we continue to look into the fires that occurred during FP2, our focus before tomorrow will be on taking pre-emptive measures,” the FIA, Formula One’s governing body, had said in a statement on Friday, per Reuters.

“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.”

However, the measures did not appear to have much of an effect on Saturday, with the most notable fire starting during the second part of qualifying at the exit of the 130R corner. The session was halted for six minutes before resuming.

While the air temperature was only 59 degrees Farenheit (15 degrees Celsius) in Suzuka on Saturday, track temperatures reached as high as 102 degrees (39 degrees Celsius), according to Formula1.com.

It is the second time in the last year that trackside fires have broken out at a Formula One event. In April 2024, the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai was halted due to a small trackside fire during the sole practice session.

With rain forecast on Sunday morning in Suzuka, officials will be hopeful that the race itself will not be impacted.

Max Verstappen will start in pole position after he pipped Lando Norris by just 0.012 seconds on his final lap. It is the fourth time in a row that the Dutchman has finished first in qualifying at Suzuka, and his time of 1:26.983 is a new lap record for the track.

Verstappen’s new teammate Yuki Tsunoda qualified in 15^th place in his first outing for Red Bull, one spot behind Liam Lawson, the driver whose seat he took after Lawson was demoted just two races into the season.

Both drivers later moved one spot up on the grid after Carlos Sainz was given a three-place penalty for blocking Lewis Hamilton in qualifying.

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