Fiery F2 crash causes lengthy stoppage at new Madrid F1 track

The Spanish Grand Prix weekend has seen its first red flag interruptions, as Formula 2 driver Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak crashed heavily at Turn 19 during free practice.

Ahead of the Madrid weekend, drivers had expressed an expectation that there would be red flags and crashes throughout the running, with the walls closely wrapping around the 5.414km Madring layout. 

In a recent F3 test, 19 red flags had been shown across the two days, with 11 of these down to crashes. 

In the sole F2 practice session, ART Grand Prix driver Inthraphuvasak lost the rear of his car at Turn 19 - a higher-speed section of the 'staircase' of left-right turns - and spun with the rear-left striking the wall, causing the car to erupt in flames. 

While the Thai driver was able to quickly escape his car and the recovery vehicles were relatively quick on the scene, it will take some effort for him to return to the track in time for qualifying later on today. 

While this stoppage saw drivers lose significant running, the first red flag was displayed after Nicola Lacorte crashed in F3 practice. However, this was at the end of the session, meaning that drivers were denied only their final efforts. 

The DAMS driver's incident was similar to the F2 stoppage, with Lacorte losing the rear at Turn 9 - a right-hand kink on the run to the high-speed banked Turn 12 - before finding the wall. 

Both F2 and F3 are scheduled to complete qualifying sessions on Friday afternoon, with the latter facing two of the sessions, due to running a 'double feature' event for the season finale.