Bahrain F1 test halted as Hamilton and Leclerc strike loose drain · RaceFans

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.

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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.