Although it’s unfortunate something like this had to happen to such a cool car, it’s extremely fortunate all involved were unharmed. In reality, if your car does, unfortunately, catch on fire, a racetrack is probably the best place for it to happen due to the open space and the plethora of fire safety measures being employed.
Despite all this, it’s a good lesson for consumers that with any new technology, there are going to be setbacks and unforeseen issues. Hydrogen, like gasoline, is a highly flammable substance. This isn’t to say that it’s unsafe, but more that it will need time to progress through all the safety and engineering stages before it is fully rolled out to the public.
This is the entire reason Toyota took the car racing in the first place. The car, in the past two seasons of racing, has already improved substantially, increasing output by 24% and cruising by 30% since it first hit the track in 2021. Putting it through these extreme conditions has pushed the technology further, faster than expected.