Loose drain hits Ferrari again, Bahrain tests halted

The scheduled Formula One testing session at Bahrain’s Sakhir circuit encountered an unexpected disruption on Thursday as Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari suffered damage from a dislodged drain cover during the morning session. Ferrari responded by promptly changing the floor of the new SF-24 car. The incident, which caused the first red flag of the year, prompted the suspension of the session for repairs at turn 11.

This is not the first time Ferrari has faced issues with loose drain covers; a similar incident occurred in Las Vegas last November when Carlos Sainz’s car suffered damage during the first practice. The swift actions taken to rectify the situation underline the significance of every minute of pre-season running, given the tight schedule with only three days of testing per team.

Both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton navigated the affected area, with Leclerc even appearing to dislodge the cover before Hamilton went over it. The immediate need for repairs led to the afternoon session being brought forward an hour to compensate for lost time.

Charles and Lewis already collaborating on a project! 😉

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Replays show Leclerc taking a wide line through Turn 11 and flicking up a small piece of kerb, followed by Hamilton running over it#F1Testing #F1 pic.twitter.com/6XQK3qvVvQ

— Formula 1 (@F1) February 22, 2024

In terms of performance, Leclerc had set the fastest lap of the disrupted session, clocking in at one minute and 31.750 seconds. Oscar Piastri of McLaren and Logan Sargeant of Williams closely followed, emphasizing the competitive dynamics during the pre-season tests. Triple world champion Max Verstappen had topped the timings on the preceding Wednesday.