Japanese Grand Prix practice stopped after two grass fires at Suzuka circuit

Second practice for the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix was red flagged four times on Friday, twice because grass at the Suzuka circuit caught fire.

The third race of the 2025 F1 season is on Sunday with Lando Norris well-placed to extend his championship lead.

The Brit topped the timesheets in first practice and was only bettered by McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri in second practice, though the afternoon session was heavily disrupted.

Drivers could only get a handful of laps in as the session was stopped four times, the first of which came after Jack Doohan crashed into the barriers at turn one at 185mph.

The Australian had to be helped by marshals as he walked gingerly away from his wrecked Alpine but the team have confirmed he is ‘ok’.

The session was delayed for 20 minutes as the barriers were repaired but no soon had it restarted, Fernando Alonso beached his Aston Martin in a gravel trap, bringing out the second red flag.

Bizarre scenes were to follow however, as with just 14 minutes left practice was again halted as a patch of grass on the side of the track caught fire, likely caused by sparks flying off the underside of cars, with marshals frantically trying to put it out.

The session was able to resume with a few minutes remaining but almost instantly was stopped again thanks to a larger grass fire at another part of the Suzuka figure-of-eight.

It remains to be seen whether officials can or will do anything in order to prevent any future trackside fires, though rain is forecast for before and at the start of Sunday’s race.

A similar issue occurred at last year’s Chinese Grand Prix, with Sky Sports reporting that a special chemical was sprayed onto the grass ahead of last month’s event in Shanghai in order to stop a reoccurrence.

At Suzuka, many eyes are on home favourite Yuki Tsunoda who is making his Red Bull debut after getting promoted from Racing Bulls, replacing Liam Lawson who was brutally axed after just two races.

The 24-year-old finished first practice in sixth place, just 0.1 seconds slower than teammate and reigning champion Max Verstappen, though he was unable to get much meaningful running in the second session.

‘I think that was a positive start for Yuki,’ Red Bull boss Christian Horner said.

‘He knows the circuit very well here, and his feedback is very clear, very concise in the car. It’s just the start of his journey with the team and plenty to get into.’

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