Motor Racing-Ferrari Set F1 Testing Pace After Drain Damage – News18

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz set the tempo on the second day of Formula One’s pre-season testing in Bahrain on Thursday after the group modified the automotive’s broken flooring following a unfastened drain cowl incident.

The morning session was halted — the primary crimson flag of the 12 months — after the Spaniard’s group mate Charles Leclerc ran over the duvet at flip 11.

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton additionally went over it, with particles flying within the air.

Teams have just one automotive every on observe over the three days of testing at Sakhir, with Leclerc and Sainz alternating, and Ferrari took the SF-24 again into the storage for repairs with the shutters down.

Sainz took over within the afternoon/night session, which was introduced ahead an hour to make up for the time misplaced to trace repairs, and lapped with a finest time of 1 minute 29.921 seconds on the second softest C4 tyre.

“Another day of testing completed according to plan and without issues,” Sainz mentioned.

“We managed to go through the whole afternoon programme smoothly, combining various tests with low and high fuel runs, so it was interesting to get a feel for this year’s car in different configurations.”

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez was closest to him on the slower C3 tyre, 0.758 off the tempo, with Hamilton third and McLaren’s Lando Norris fourth.

“We’ve clearly made an improvement with this year’s car and it’s much nicer to drive,” mentioned seven-instances world champion Hamilton, who accomplished 123 laps.

Leclerc had topped the sooner timesheets in 1:31.750 on the C3 tyre with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri 0.578 slower and Williams’ Logan Sargeant third and 0.828 off the tempo.

The Ferrari driver returned within the afternoon to finish his programme earlier than handing over to Sainz.

DRAIN INCIDENT

The drain incident introduced again reminiscences of Las Vegas final November when Sainz ran over a unfastened cowl throughout first follow, bringing a prolonged halt to proceedings.

Ironically, the Spaniard had gone out to look at Leclerc on Thursday and was standing close to Turn 11 when the incident occurred.

Ferrari technical director Enrico Cardile mentioned the issue was simply fastened.

“The damage was on a small portion of the floor…nothing worrying. We changed the floor, proceeding with our plan and no drama,” he added.

Sainz ended up with 84 laps to Leclerc’s 54.

The season begins in Bahrain on March 2, the primary spherical of what’s going to be a document 24-race championship, and each minute of pre-season operating is treasured.

Red Bull’s triple world champion Max Verstappen was quickest on Wednesday, though timings don’t imply a lot with groups operating to their very own programmes, and Perez had his first activate Thursday.

The Mexican had an issue with overheating brakes within the morning however ended the day with 129 laps beneath his belt.

“It was unexpected to be in the car all day today but the delays meant my early runs were cut short, so the team decided to extend my day and I am back in the car again tomorrow morning,” he mentioned.

“Generally speaking, I think the RB20 is a step forward for the team and we have gone in the right direction.”

(This story has not been edited by News18 employees and is printed from a syndicated information company feed – Reuters)