Suzuka grass still on fire, now FIA relies on rain | F1 Japanese Grand Prix. Watering the escape routes doesn't seem to have worked: today another small fire interrupted qualifying..

Still Fire

Yesterday, we explained how the FIA had put together a “plan” to try to solve the unusual problem of fires that are spontaneously igniting in some areas of the track due to the contact between the sparks generated by the cars in the faster corners and the particularly dry grass that this year characterizes the escape routes of Suzuka. However, the plan to preemptively water the most at-risk areas clearly did not work, as both in this morning’s FP3 and – especially – in qualifying, the sessions were once again interrupted due to fires.

Another solution – a decidedly radical one – that had been proposed but immediately rejected was to preemptively burn the most at-risk areas around the circuit. However, this idea posed safety risks in case the fires were not kept under control, both environmentally and ‘aesthetically’, considering the image that would have been given by the many scorched areas around the track.

Eyes on the Sky

At this point, it seems that the greatest hope for avoiding problems during the race is… the weather. The high likelihood of rain on Sunday at Suzuka, even just in the morning, gives organizers hope. A heavy downpour would indeed refresh the grass on the track, making it damp and certainly less prone to catching fire. If the weather does not cooperate, a spokesperson for the FIA explained that the grass of the escape routes will be artificially watered again in an attempt to prevent the issue from resurfacing.