FIA make pledge after four fires in two days strike Suzuka

The FIA has made a strong pledge to do it all can to reduce the risk of further trackside fires blighting qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix.

Two fires, caused by sparks flying off the titanium skid blocks from the underside of the cars and igniting the dry grass around the Suzuka circuit perimeter, further disrupted an already blighted session following a heavy crash for Alpine's Jack Doohan and an off into the gravel for Fernando Alonso in his Aston Martin.

The FIA issued a statement later in the day stating it would be "taking pre-emptive measures", that included cutting the grass "as short as possible", and removing all "loose, dried grass...from affected areas".

In addition, it stated that ahead of FP3, "the grass will be dampened, and specific response teams will be stationed around the track".

However, those measures did not prove enough as two further fires occurred during final practice, one after just a few minutes, and the other seven minutes from the end that prevented any further running. Overall, a further 15 minutes were lost.

In response going into qualifying, the FIA has said that "all available time and resources will be focused on further dampening the grass before the session".