Other open wheel
Goethe relieved bizarre fire extinguisher incident didn't cost him Macau GP front row
It was a chaotic qualifying session for all of the field, but especially for the Red Bull Junior who accidentally set off his extinguisher and feared his day was over
Stephen Lickorish
Edited: Nov 16, 2024, 6:08 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Oliver Goethe, MP Motorsport
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Red Bull Junior Oliver Goethe admits he "got away with" accidentally setting his fire extinguisher off when battling for Macau Grand Prix pole.
While it was a chaotic qualifying session for all the Formula Regional World Cup drivers on Friday, when seven red flags followed five stoppages the previous day, it was even more eventful for Goethe.
He accidentally set off his extinguisher during the third of the red flags, dousing both himself and his car with foam.
It left his MP Motorsport crew to hurriedly clean his car, his race seat, Goethe's overalls and replace the fire extinguisher.
The German was on provisional pole at the time and feared his qualifying session would be over, but further delays amid a clean-up operation to remove fluid spilt on the Guia track gave the MP mechanics sufficient time to allow Goethe to rejoin the fray.
He ultimately lost out on pole by just 0.014 seconds but was relieved not to have slipped further down the order, which could have been the case without the subsequent red flags.
Oliver Goethe, MP Motorsport
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
"It was very stressful - I didn’t know, once it happened, whether my qualifying was over," Goethe told Motorsport.com.
"But, thankfully, there was that long red flag and other red flags that gave us time to fix everything, replace everything.
"It was stressful but it didn’t change anything in the end.
"At least it didn’t happen on track or during the race or at the end of qualifying when the times were improving so much. I got away with it in the end!"
Goethe, who had earlier set the pace in Thursday's wet first practice and opening qualifying session, was also relieved to have avoided the incidents that befell some of his rivals during what he described as a "really crazy" session.
"So much went on, there was rain, so many red flags, it was the first time pushing in the dry, the fire extinguisher for me," he said. "It was just chaotic but in the end managed to get a good lap."
R-ace GP's McLaren junior Ugochukwu echoed those sentiments, describing it as the "most intense qualifying session I’ve ever had".
Follow the live action from this year's Macau Grand Prix on Motorsport.com and Motorsport.tv.
Read Also:
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article New FG series reveals radical all-electric car with digital screens
Next article Beganovic calls Macau GP red flags "embarrassing", optimistic of fighting back
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Stephen Lickorish
The standout performers from the action-packed Macau GP weekend
General
General 11 mo
The standout performers from the action-packed Macau GP weekend
Latest news
The numbers that reveal how sprint races have turned the MotoGP title fight upside down
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
49 min
The numbers that reveal how sprint races have turned the MotoGP title fight upside down
2027 Formula E drivers and teams: The line-up so far
Formula E
FE Formula E 2 h
2027 Formula E drivers and teams: The line-up so far
Kimi Antonelli meets Italian president Sergio Mattarella
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 3 h
Kimi Antonelli meets Italian president Sergio Mattarella
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe