myDue to a loose manhole cover, Formula 1 rehearsals were interrupted for the second consecutive day Bahrain caused. The four-hour morning training session on the third and final day of driving tests before the start of the season on Saturday next week (16:00 CET in FAZ live ticker for Formula 1on Sky and RTL) had to be stopped on Friday morning after only 27 minutes for safety reasons.
Previously there was Sergio Perez, teammate of world champion Max Verstappen, went over the manhole cover hidden in the curbs of the Red Bull at the entrance to turn eleven of the Bahrain International Circuit. The metal part was then loose on the edge of the road and the drain underneath was exposed.
Same place as the day before.
Red flags were immediately waved and the drivers were ordered to the pits. The driving tests were interrupted for almost an hour and a half. Race director Niels Wittich inspected the area and repair teams with welding machines were deployed. The resumption was scheduled for 9:45 German time, the one-hour lunch break was canceled and the test day was extended by one hour until 17:00 CET.
A similar incident at the same point on the route already caused a mandatory stop on Thursday morning. Carlos Leclerc (Ferrari) had gone over the manhole cover, which was then lifted and subsequently run over by Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and a second time by Leclerc.
The basses were made by Leclercs. ferrari destroyed, the morning test drives ended after two and a half hours, but in the afternoon they were carried out for an additional hour.
Just a few months ago, Formula 1 suffered a disaster due to a loose manhole cover. Back then, practice for the Las Vegas Grand Prix had to end after just eight minutes.after Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz crashed on the world famous Las Vegas Boulevard. “It is unacceptable that something like this happens,” Ferrari team boss Frédéric Vasseur said at the time.
Testing time for Formula 1 teams in Bahrain is tight. The 20 drivers only have twelve hours over three days to test their new cars. The new season will also begin in Bahrain next week. Due to the fasting month of Ramadan, the first Grand Prix of the year is held on Saturdays.