Jack Doohan of Alpine suffered a high-speed crash during Friday’s practice session at the Japanese Grand Prix, leading to a series of interruptions. The Australian driver was uninjured, and initial reports suggested the crash may have been caused by the DRS (Drag Reduction System) being left open as Doohan entered the 160mph first corner. Alpine has not yet commented on the cause of the incident.

Doohan’s crash was the first of four red-flag stoppages during the session. Two of the stoppages were due to fires igniting in the grass near the track, while the second was caused by Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin spinning off and getting stuck in the gravel at Degner One. The fires continued to disrupt the session, leading to further delays. After six minutes of running in the final phase, the session was halted once again due to another fire near Spoon Curve.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri set the fastest time of the session, with teammate Lando Norris close behind. Other notable performances included Isack Hadjar of Racing Bulls in third, with Max Verstappen finishing eighth despite struggling with understeer in his Red Bull. The session was ultimately too disrupted to provide any significant insights into team performance.