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F1 Today | Strange incidents in Shanghai give fans an exciting day

F1 Today | Strange incidents in Shanghai give fans an exciting day

19 April - 20:45

Kada Sarkozi

Editor

It was an eventful day at the Shanghai International Circuit on Friday. Lando Norris completed a superb lap in Sprint Qualifying and got his pole position back in a strange way. Not only that, the grass around the track also caught fire both during FP1 and later during the second session of the day. Here are the top stories of Day 1 of the Chinese Grand Prix.

Norris claims pole with reinstated lap

It was an eventful Sprint Qualifying session in China. Rain arrived at the track during the end of SQ2, with George Russell being the first driver caught out by the weather, as he only finished in P11. After a chaotic final session, it was Lando Norris who the quickest, but at first, stewards accidentaly deleted his time. By the time Lewis Hamilton was declared to be the fastest, Norris' lap was reinstated. You can read our report here.

Analyst Peter Windsor not only gave his thoughts on today's strategies, but also explained why that is on his YouTube channel. "Never seen that before. That is unbelievable. The regulations for the Chinese Grand Prix, if you read the small print, say that if a car runs wide at Turn 6 and Turn 16, only the lap time of that specific lap was going to be deleted. Because at some circuits, Austria and Austin, very good example, by deliberately running wide, coming out of the last corner, getting that lap deleted, you can actually then get a better run as you cross the start finish line. But in China, with different circuit, obviously with gravel on the outside of 16, it was deemed that there would be no advantage if you ran wide."

The grass on fire

There were two controversies around the track in Shanghai. First, rumours started circulating that the circuit was not resurfaced, but it was only painted over by the organisers to hide the bumps present unknown to both Pirelli and the teams. Pirelli found data for that on Wednesday.

Later today, both during FP1 and Sprint Qualifying, grass around the track has caught fire. The FIA have declared that his could happen because of the sparks coming off of the cars based on video audience. However, the why that is still unknown. The first rumour was that the organisers painted over the grass so it looks greener.