Pierre Gasly’s car burst into flames during Free Practice for the Singapore Grand Prix on Friday while the AlphaTauri driver was still sitting in the cockpit.
Concerns were raised for a very calm Gasly as the airbox – which is located behind a driver’s head – caught on fire unexpectedly.
Before the Frenchman was able to remove himself from his seat safely, Aston Martin’s mechanics reacted quickly to extinguish the fire and there was a great deal of confusion in the AlphaTauri garage as to how the AT03 suddenly was ablaze.
Scary stuff as flames shoot out of Pierre Gasly's car! 😮
Thankfully, Pierre is out of the car and the flames are extinguished. pic.twitter.com/lAPFmZa7MR
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) September 30, 2022
Despite the incident, Gasly re-emerged from the pits to take part in the second practice session f the day, however, there will be growing concern in the AlphaTauri garage ahead of Saturday’s Qualifying.
Sky Sports F1’s Ted Kravitz heard from an AlphaTauri spokesperson after the session who clarified what had happened.
He said: “Everything’s been sorted out. There’s been a bit of tape that’s been out over the fire-damaged engine cover.
“The team are telling me the fire started when the fuel breather was connected to the car but it was put out quickly and then he’s going back out on the circuit.”
