Magnussen fire halts FP1 in Malaysia

© XPB 

FP1 at the Malaysian Grand Prix was halted as a result of a fire for Kevin Magnussen's Renault in the pit lane.

Magnussen was returning to the pits after his installation laps when he was told to jump out of his car quickly in front of the garage, with flames starting to emerge from the airbox above his head. The car caught fire but Renault mechanics were quickly on the scene to try and bring it under control.

The cause of the problem appeared to be a fuel leak, with liquid flowing out of the top of the car and down the sides of the engine cover, again catching light a number of times as Renault attempted to put the fire out. With extinguisher all over the pit lane, the session was red flagged after 11 minutes of running, with Renault then taking its time to work on the car.

During that time, Renault connected its fuel lines to try and drain the car, and was able to remove the engine cover to address the problem before finally wheeling the car back into the garage.

After a further 15-minute delay, the session was restarted.

Romain Grosjean exclusive column: Haas can build momentum for 2017

Chris Medland's 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix preview

TECHNICAL: F1 telemetry: The data race

FEATURE: When F1 team-mates fight for the title

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter