The second qualifying session at the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix was red-flagged due to a fire at the Red Bull Ring’s final corner, where race marshals had to douse the dry grass with water.
This incident was reminiscent of what had occurred at the Japanese Grand Prix in April, where multiple grass fires were ignited by sparks from the titanium planks on the cars.
Despite efforts to prevent such incidents by cutting and dampening the grass, a red flag was necessary during qualifying due to Lewis Hamilton running wide at the final corner.
Following the analysis of stainless steel skid block trials in Barcelona, the FIA has decided to keep titanium skid blocks mandatory for the season but requested teams to have stainless steel skid blocks available at all events as a precaution.
Furthermore, additional testing of stainless steel skid blocks will be carried out at selected events to assess their effectiveness in preventing grass fires as seen in Suzuka earlier this year.
