‘Scary’: F1 rival’s heroic act after star’s car dramatically bursts into flames

‘Scary’: F1 rival’s heroic act after star’s car dramatically bursts into flames

Pierre Gasly’s car dramatically caught fire with the Frenchman still in it during practice for the Singapore Grand Prix.

Flames shot out of the air vent after Gasly had driven his AlphaTauri into the pits, The Sun reports.

Stream the FORMULA 1 SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX 2022™ LIVE and ad-break free Sunday 11pm AEST on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >

The 26-year-old quickly jumped out of the cockpit and thankfully emerged from the flames unscathed.

The AlphaTauri crew, with the help of an Aston Martin mechanic, acted fast to put out the flames with a fire extinguisher.

Gasly’s car caught fire as it was being rolled into the garage at the end of his run in the middle of FP2 for the Singapore Grand Prix.

He then bravely came back out to complete practice, despite earlier having to leap out of his burning vehicle.

“It’s all part of the practice, checking how strong the engine is in these hot conditions,” Gasly quipped after the session.

“It wasn’t ideal, it got slightly hot, and when we connected the fuel breather it caught fire, but we could switch it off and restart again. So, just a bit of a barbecue feeling, but it was nothing too bad in the end.

“It’s just a procedure, and in these conditions it’s so warm – it’s nothing worrying or concerning for the rest of the weekend.”

MORE COVERAGE

Wolff blasts Horner over ‘heavyweight’ cheating allegation denial

Practice Talking Pts: Mystery Friday opens door to quali stunner; McLaren upgrades flop

‘I don’t see myself there’: Ricciardo shuts down code switch chatter to focus on F1 comeback

Speaking on Sky Sports F1, Ted Kravitz 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.”

He added: “Normally when it’s pushed back into the garage they put a breather on it so the air in the fuel tank can breathe.

“And then they keep it on when they put fuel in or take fuel out to allow the air to come out of the fuel tank.

“So what I don’t understand is, because I wasn’t here, was why that was done when the car was still in the pit box. I just need to get my head around that.”

On the track, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz clocked the fastest second practice time, with Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc second and Lewis Hamilton down in fifth.

The action at Marina Bay resumes with FP3 and qualifying on Saturday, ahead of Sunday’s highly-anticipated race.

Pierre Gasly of France and Scuderia AlphaTauri. Photo by Peter Fox/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

Singapore FP2 results

1 — Carlos Sainz, Ferrari 1:42.587

2 — Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +0.208

3 — George Russell, Mercedes +0.324

4 — Max Verstappen, Red Bull +0.339

5 — Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes +0.595

6 — Esteban Ocon, Alpine +0.825

7 — Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo +0.844

8 — Fernando Alonso, Alpine +0.933

9 — Sergio Perez, Red Bull +1.319

10 — Lance Stroll, Aston Martin +1.395

11 — Lando Norris, McLaren +1.426

12 — Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin +1.662

13 — Kevin Magnussen, Haas +1.835

14 — Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri +1.882

15 — Guanyu Zhou, Alfa Romeo +1.937

16 — Alexander Albon, Williams +2.557

17 — Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri +2.624

18 — Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren +2.860

19 — Mick Schumacher, Haas +3.036

20 — Nicholas Latifi, Williams +3.966

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission