The first day of testing for the new Formula 1 season was halted when a power cut hit the Bahrain International Circuit.
The electricity supply failed in the teams’ garages and elsewhere in the paddock. The circuit’s lighting system was also extinguished.The race director red-flagged the session immediately afterwards. The FIA confirmed the action was taken in response to the blackout.
The failure struck shortly after 5pm local time. The session was scheduled to end at 7pm, with sunset due to fall at 5:37pm.
With the teams’ facilities plunged into darkness, mechanics began working by torchlight as the time until the end of the session continued to tick down.
George Russell was leaving the pits in his Mercedes when the track was suddenly plunged into darkness.
“I came out of the pits and thought it was suddenly quite dark out here,” he told Sky. “I came on the radio and said I needed to change my visor and I realised there was no floodlights on.
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“It would have been a bit hectic if this was an hour later when the sun has already set.”
The power was gradually restored to the circuit over the following hour. The FIA eventually confirmed the session would resume at 6:10pm local time, over an hour after it had been suspended, with 50 minutes of running left. It later announced the session would be extended by an hour to make up for the lost time.
The Bahrain circuit operators issued a statement explained the failure. “At approximately 5pm today, a power outage caused by an external substation failure led to the afternoon session on track to be paused,” it said. “Power has since been restored and the afternoon session has resumed. We appreciate everyone’s patience.”
This is the second year in a row a problem has halted testing at the Bahrain International Circuit. Last year over two hours of running was lost when a drain cover came loose at turn 11, which Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc hit.
Today’s test is the first of three days of running teams are permitted before the new season begins in Australia next month. All 20 drivers were involved in the opening day of the test.
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BasCB (@bascb)
26th February 2025, 14:24
What’s the reasoning for letting the clock run down while they stopped the session for not having power? Given that it was supposed to run into the evening / dark anyway, the time of day shouldn’t be the issue, right?
Ideals (@ideals)
26th February 2025, 14:28
Too many employees that would have to be paid overtime.
BasCB (@bascb)
26th February 2025, 14:33
Yeah, that makes sense (if most aren’t volunteers), also organising their transport home etc. I guess they might have a talk about extending the session on one of the other days to compensate.
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
26th February 2025, 14:48
It’s an interesting question what would happen if this occurred after sunset, in a race? Considering Bahrain is generally speaking a ‘nighttime’ track. I’m guessing the drivers would still get the red flag notification, and as safety goes I’m sure everyone would back off.
It might be quite interesting to see everyone try and make it back to the pits with tinted visors. Not that we would actually see anything on TV.
Jere (@jerejj)
26th February 2025, 17:34
I wondered the same thing, & a lighting infrastructure suddenly turning off during a race beyond sunset time is definitely a theoretical possibility that could occur someday in any Middle East location, Singapore, or Las Vegas.
rprp
26th February 2025, 17:41
You would expect (hope?) that there are generators to support critical infrastructure, such as lighting, especially around marshal posts. Physical red flag out, and red flag light boards if they’re deemed critical.
Jere (@jerejj)
26th February 2025, 18:05
rprp That definitely should always be the case.
Simon
26th February 2025, 22:07
Sunset time references. Before. The. Season. Has. Even. Started.
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Jere (@jerejj)
26th February 2025, 17:31
The BIC operator clearly forgot to pay the electric bill in time for the test.
In all seriousness, what an unusual thing & something that has never happened before in any floodlit GP location.
I first thought they were merely waiting before turning on the Musco light bulbs until around 17:00 local before I noticed that some tall poles that were about to turn on suddenly switched off, with the footage from a dark Red Bull Racing garage ultimately making me realize that what I noticed regarding the track’s lighting infrastructure wasn’t a mere coincidence.
Just imagine if the same happened during any floodlit race.
FIA’s reactive move to add 60 minutes to the remaining running time on the fly was good.