Trackside fire halts long-awaited Chinese GP return
The first practice session at the reinstated Chinese Grand Prix was stopped after a grass fire broke out on the edge of the track.
Moderated by Tomas Kauer 
UPDATE: A second grass fire has broken out on the edge of the track at the Shanghai International Circuit, this time at turn five during sprint qualifying.
Sky Sports F1 commentator and former champion Nico Rosberg explained that the skid blocks on the bottom of the cars were causing the trackside fires.
"There's a big bump on the ground and all the cars are launching big sparks from under their car and the wind is blowing the sparks off the track and so it's putting the grass on fire," he said.
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"This is something we have never seen before. Unbelievable.
"I think the fire extinguisher powder had it under control for a while so it should be fine for qualifying tomorrow.
"But then they need to come up with a more permanent solution."
The first practice session at the reinstated Chinese Grand Prix was similarly halted earlier on Friday.
The session was red-flagged after just 15 minutes when a patch of grass near turn seven unexpectedly caught alight.
"There is a fire in the grass," Alpine driver Esteban Ocon could be heard saying over the team radio
Pundits were left scratching their heads as to how to prevent the fires.
"I don't think I have ever, ever seen grass catch fire by the side of a Formula 1 track," Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft said.
"It's a very small grass fire at the moment.
"I have no idea how that would have happened."
Several marshals quickly approached the small fire and successfully extinguished it, allowing the practice session to resume a few minutes later.
Aston Martin's Lance Stroll topped the time sheet with a lap time of 1:36:302, ahead of McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.https://twitter.com/F1/status/1781181103983792351?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The F1 paddock has returned to China for the first time in five years after being removed from the calendar because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The schedule in China only includes one practice session before qualifying — rather than the traditional two hit-outs — to accommodate for the first sprint race of the season.
As this translated to less than one hour of drive time before racing begins, Alpine driver Pierre Gasly voiced his frustration at the lack of preparation.
"This is not acceptable, I haven't learned anything. Absolutely nothing," he said over the team radio as he entered the pits.
