The second day of Formula 1’s pre-season test has been badly disrupted due to track damage at the Bahrain International Circuit.
The morning’s session was halted after two hours and 20 minutes of running when debris appeared on track at the approach to turn 11. The session was later abandoned so repairs could be completed.The trouble started when a drain cover on the drivers’ right-hand-side of the circuit on the approach to turn 11 appeared to be dislodged after Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc ran over it while approaching the left-hander. Footage showed Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes then ran over the same area and appeared to hit the loose cover, before Leclerc struck the debris on his next lap by.
FIA race director Niels Wittich suspended the test with a red flag and immediately climbed into the Safety Car to be brought to the scene of the incident on the way into turn 11. The FIA subsequently abandoned the morning session.
Teams were advised the track repairs are likely to take around an hour. The afternoon session has therefore been extended and will begin one hour earlier than scheduled, at 2pm local time.
Ferrari confirmed they replaced the floor on Leclerc’s car as a result of the impact. It is the second time in just under 100 days that a Ferrari Formula 1 car appears to have struck and been damaged by a covering on a race track. Leclerc’s team mate Carlos Sainz Jnr suffered major damage to his Ferrari during opening practice for last year’s Las Vegas Grand Prix after hitting a drain covering along the Las Vegas Strip.
Mercedes mechanics also inspected the underside of Hamilton’s W15 following his debris strike.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
The stoppage began with almost two hours of the morning’s running still to go. A lengthy delay will be disruptive for teams as they have only three days of testing before the first grand prix takes place at the same circuit next week.
Leclerc, who had set the quickest time at the moment the test was halted, is due to hand over his Ferrari to Sainz following the lunch break at the conclusion of the first session of running, scheduled for just after 2pm local time (11am UK time). Hamilton is scheduled to run the entire day in the Mercedes before sharing the car with team mate George Russell on the final day.
Pictures: Track damage in Bahrain
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Formula 1
- Alonso’s unusual brake problem and more unheard Miami team radio
- McLaren’s Miami upgrade success points to even stronger form in coming races
- Norris expects more wins this year and believes “100%” in 2025 title bid
- Leclerc gets new race engineer as Marcos Padros changes roles at Ferrari
- ‘You’re talking too much’: Frustrated Sainz was ‘one lap from winning’ Miami GP
JOA20
22nd February 2024, 9:55
A drain. In Bahrain.
Las Vegas’ stunt seems less ridiculous now.
MichaelN
22nd February 2024, 10:18
The WEC weekend here in November had a wet FP. Which was indeed an odd sight.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
22nd February 2024, 10:29
It rained at the F2 test last week. Too much of a shock to the drainage system? Anyway, not the action shots the photographer was hoping for.
Coventry Climax
22nd February 2024, 10:59
I do not agree with that.
Making the same mistake twice is quite unforgivable, especially as they are mistakes that are potentially lethal.
Completely ridiculous this happens again.
Sonny Crockett (@sonnycrockett)
22nd February 2024, 11:14
I agree. With the weight of these things, a blow to the head would kill someone instantly.
LosD (@losd)
23rd February 2024, 7:03
@sonnycrockett It’s not reaaaaally heavy, at least the cover in this instance, though I believe the one in LV was much larger. A race marshall was seen holding the cover on the live coverage (and then proceeded to try to kick it back in place, which was just silly). It was not a big round cover, just a small oblong piece of (I guess) metal, apparently supposed to sit at the edge of the curb. … Still wouldn’t want it to connect with any part of my body at 200+kph, though.
Tristan (@skipgamer)
22nd February 2024, 10:29
There’s going to be a serious accident one day to the lax safety… Imagine if the worst happened to Max or Hamilton, it would be unconscionable, every little thing we argue about or care about would completely fall by the wayside. All it would take is for someone to be just behind one of these lifted drains in a pushing scenario. It’s pure luck that it’s just happened in practice conditions so far.
Sure there’s the halo to protect the head, but the cars aren’t made to protect from heavy, solid, potentially radially spinning flying objects. How was nothing learnt from Vegas where this happened just months ago and the danger was made chillingly clear? How has extra investment and care not been put into ensuring any part of the circuit that could lift up has no chance at all to do so?
GET.. YOUR… ACT… TOGETHER… FIA!
Tristan (@skipgamer)
22nd February 2024, 10:31
Oh also FOM, stop tightening the schedule and pushing everything to the limits with deadlines, that’s also how shortcuts are made and mistakes happen.
Jere (@jerejj)
22nd February 2024, 11:02
@skipgamer Drain covers aren’t FOM’s responsibility & nothing to do with schedules anyway.
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
22nd February 2024, 11:11
@jerejj
It’s their [FOM] responsibility as the authority granting GP hosting rights to promoters. By unequivocally stating the unacceptability of certain actions and outlining the potential contract cancellation consequences, promoters will be obliged to diligently fulfill their obligations. However, in reality, financial interests often overshadow such considerations…
anon
22nd February 2024, 11:40
The FIA has previously stated that, as the sanctioning body, it has the legal duty of care to ensure that the circuit meets the safety standards that they have specified the track must meet, and the FIA has accepted the legal duty to inspect the track and validate that it has met it’s requirements.
If the circuit has failed in their duties, it falls to the FIA to determine the sanction and the remedial action required, and to determine if that breaches the licence that the FIA issued to the circuit.
Coventry Climax
22nd February 2024, 11:15
Meaning? @skipgamer ‘s entire comment isn’t true? Sounds a bit like you’re heading in that direction.
Maybe FOM does not have the end responsability here, but they’re certainly part of it, if only by agreeing to it all.
Tristan (@skipgamer)
22nd February 2024, 11:16
Why would you reply that? I never said they were.
If teams are being pushed to the limit with the schedule there’s no doubt organisers are also.
LosD (@losd)
22nd February 2024, 13:24
@skipgamer Why would they be? Organisers are responsible for their own track, and their time for preparation is not affected by the number of races. I get it, you don’t like a lot of races, but it just isn’t relevant here.
anon
22nd February 2024, 21:12
@skipgamer as noted by LosD, the track owner, as part of the licencing system that the FIA operates, is required to maintain the track in a suitable and safe condition for all FIA sanctioned racing events that take place there, not just Formula 1. The drain cover issue is therefore something that you would expect to be addressed as part of routine maintenance operations around the circuit that would be taking place over the whole year.
Indeed, the idea that the circuit is “being pushed to the limit with the schedule” really doesn’t make any sense. The organisers only have to organise a single Grand Prix, and given that the calendar is announced at least six months ahead of the first race taking place, the minimum amount of time they theoretically have to prepare for the event would be six months.
In reality, given that the circuit owners will have been in negotiations with the FIA and FOM about what slot they will have on the calendar, they almost certainly know what their grid slot is at an even earlier date than the formal announcement, meaning they will have far more time to prepare for the race.
S
22nd February 2024, 13:12
But it would be less of a problem if it happened to someone else..? If you’re not a multiple champion, you aren’t as important?
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
22nd February 2024, 19:38
The difference is that we’ve already seen that if the FIA see someone else die, it’s quite willing to put out a statement of “lessons learned” and then gradually walk back on them. (If you do not believe me, check how many of this year’s start times are within 4 hours of sunset at tracks without floodlights in use). I believe that @skipgamer is trying to think of things that might persuade the FIA to take this seriously enough to avert a drain-related serious injury or death.
S
23rd February 2024, 1:39
That really doesn’t convince me.
Not only are the races all expected to finish in under 2 hours, but the additional hour allocated afterwards (just in case of red flag or initial start delays) isn’t mandatory to make use of either. If it’s too dark to continue the race safely, then it will be stopped.
Then surely saying “If the worst happened to any participant…” rather than singling out only the two most well-known and successful would get the point across equally well?
But as we all (should) know in regard to motorsport – “the worst” is an extremely rare event, and that’s not by accident or luck. Significant precaution is taken at all times.
Jere (@jerejj)
22nd February 2024, 11:02
FIA or circuits seemingly never learn from previous drain cover issues to prevent them from happening again & again via any possible precautionary measures.
Stephen H
22nd February 2024, 11:05
You’d have though that drain covers would have been positioned to be well off the racing line. Especially on a permanent circuit.
S
22nd February 2024, 13:14
This is not anywhere near the racing line.
Racing lines are on the track – this is on the outside of the corner entry kerb. Not a place a car should be.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
22nd February 2024, 19:39
You appear to have mistaken the definition of “track” used in UK national racing and the definition used in international racing. The line was “out” for the former and “in” for the latter, and since F1’s the latter, it was exactly on the racing line as used in international racing using F1-spec cars.
S
23rd February 2024, 2:15
The “track” as defined by the FIA (everywhere) exists only between the white lines which define the track limit. There is no other definition, unless there is no track limit.
Non-FIA regulatory bodies also define it in the same way.
Anyway – F1 isn’t in the UK right now, and even if they were, they still always run under FIA regulations.
Driving on the outside of the kerbs is never defined as being within track limits.
I repeat – racing lines are on the track, because that’s the only place the cars should be.
LosD (@losd)
23rd February 2024, 12:56
If you have any part of a wheel on the white line or on the inside of the white line, you are on the track.
floodo1 (@floodo1)
22nd February 2024, 13:50
This
Coventry Climax
22nd February 2024, 15:46
That’s very true ofcourse.
You’d also have thought that, 75 years into F1 and with ample previous experience on the matter as well as a very recent wake-up call, they’d have learned something and double checked their quadruple checks on these things being very, very secure, if for some reason or other, they still are where you’d not expect them.
For an organisation that claims to have the highest attainable safety standards, they leave quite a lot to luck.
Mog
22nd February 2024, 11:13
Does the rain in Bahrain fall mainly down the drain?
SteveP
22nd February 2024, 11:35
You mean they ought to be placed at the very outside edge of the red and white kerb away from the black tarmac?
Have a look at picture #2
Anyone for a discussion about putting in simple pressure sensors in the white line denoting track limits and then ensuring the driver gets a “beep” warning they exceeded limits ???
Stuff the AI malarkey; just use simple, cheap tech to tell the drivers “you done wrong, drive better”
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
22nd February 2024, 19:46
If the organisers wanted the drain off the racing line, it needed to be on the opposite kerb. Your idea would work well in UK national racing, since that only needs to detect 1 wheel over.
Since F1 uses international definitions of track boundaries, all 4 wheels would have to be detected crossing the line before the “beep” got sounded. This turns out to be quite complicated, since one has to make certain assumptions about how far the tyre juts out from the outermost point on the wheel assembly that it’s possible to put sensors. These aren’t even identical across all specifications of tyre used in a given race (wet tyres are bigger than dry ones), let alone the same for every team (since the wheel housing may meet the tyres differently on different cars).
(There’s also the issue that beeps are already used to announce gear change points, but that’s a user interface issue and easier to solve).
Sonny Crockett (@sonnycrockett)
22nd February 2024, 11:59
Didn’t get this in Catalunya. Maybe they should post something to that effect on social media. It’ll pay Bahrain back for their jibes about the weather a few years ago!
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
22nd February 2024, 19:46
@sonnycrockett We didn’t get this in Bahrain either, until 2024.
Gubstar
22nd February 2024, 12:24
You would assume that the low pressures that are being created under the cars with these new floors are becoming to high for the current way they attach these drain covers to the kerbing/ground. I have a feeling this wont be the last time this happens this year.
SteveP
22nd February 2024, 14:15
Or that multiple hits broke the fastening of a drain cover that was likely fitted less than optimally by someone paid the best part of naff all.