The first Formula 1 practice session of the season at the Australian Grand Prix was halted by a red flag just 20 minutes in thanks to an unusual issue.
No driver actually crashed or left their car on the track, but a couple of minor excursions off the racing line kicked up some gravel and left it all over the track.
The session was paused for about five minutes while track officials sent out a street sweeper to clear the surface to avoid the chances of any driver losing control on it.
The unusual red flag continued a trend in 2025 of sessions being stopped for bizarre reasons, with pre-season testing in Bahrain stopped multiples times for one-off incidents.
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“And now gravel on track and a massive sweeper. Where are the marshals with brooms? Bit of an overkill to have a huge road sweeper! Nobody in the wall yet, nobody breaking down.”
It did not take long for the drivers to resume the action on track as the gravel was promptly cleared away.