SAKHIR, Bahrain — Alpine’s Esteban Ocon set the fastest lap time on the second morning of testing in Bahrain as a number of teams encountered issues in the desert heat.
The second day of testing took place in 37 degrees Celsius (98 degrees Farenheit) heat, providing unusually hot conditions for both cars and drivers.
The most dramatic of the problems occurred on the Williams when the rear brakes of Nicholas Latifi’s car caught fire. The first sign of trouble came when smoke started pouring from the rear wheels, but Latifi attempted to make it back to the pits.
He got as far as Turn 13 — two corners from the pit lane — when the left rear wheel buckled under the cornering load, causing the car to spin off into the run off area.
Flames engulfed the rear of the car once it stopped and a small explosion occurred as a marshal attempted to put out the fire. Both Latifi and the marshal were unharmed, but the issue put an end to Williams’ running and the car has not left the garage since the…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at www.espn.com – RPM…