The action on the track resumed after repairs at Turn 11, with the typical midday break eliminated and the session scheduled to continue until 7pm, local time (4pm GMT).
Testing was interrupted on Thursday when Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes and Charles Leclerc of Ferrari ran over a loose manhole cover, resulting in the replacement of the latter’s car floor.
Carlos Sainz concluded the second day of testing as the fastest driver, as the afternoon session was extended to five hours and ten minutes to accommodate a Safety Car test and check the track systems.
On Friday, Sergio Perez of Red Bull displaced a different drain cover at the same turn, with 27 minutes remaining in the session, once again causing red flags and requiring further repairs to the track.
Car 11 🤝 Turn 11
This time it’s Perez who displaces the offensive piece from the curb #F1Testing #F1 pic.twitter.com/xzNi1xbDla
– Formula 1 (@F1) February 23, 2024
Carlos Sainz of Ferrari had been the fastest driver before the last suspension, also leading the time charts on Thursday.
Drivers have only one and a half days of pre-season testing, with a total of three days allocated for teams to test with one car each. Some have expressed that three days are insufficient to fully understand the highly advanced new cars.
The first race of the season will take place at the same Bahrain circuit on the following Saturday. (Reported by Alan Baldwin)
According to the source grandprix247.com
