F1 testing halted on first day as huge power failure hits Bahrain circuit
The Bahrain International Circuit is once again hosting pre-season Formula 1 testing this year, but day one of running was impacted as the power went out in the second session
Image: AFP via Getty Images)
A circuit-wide power failure saw Formula 1 pre-season testing halted for more than an hour on the first day.
Day one of the three-day test at the Bahrain International Circuit was running smoothly until around 2pm UK time. That was when a power cut struck the track, which saw the floodlights go out as well as the electrical systems in many of the team garages.
At the time of the outage, it was around 5pm local time and the floodlights lining the track were in use to help with visibility. Amid safety concerns once the power was cut, the second four-hour testing session of the day was red flagged with a little under two hours to go.
TV pictures showed many personnel within team garages sourcing torches to give them the light they needed to work on the cars after they were plunged into darkness. A spokesperson for the FIA confirmed that the session was halted because of the power outage.
Many of the drivers seemed amused by the situation. That included George Russell who described what it was like on the track without the help of the floodlights with the sun setting in Bahrain.
He said: "I was coming out of the pits and I was like, 'It's suddenly quite dark out here'. I radioed to say I needed to change my visor, and I realised that there was no floodlights around. Would have been a bit hectic if this was an hour later when the sun had already set!"
After around half-an-hour, the lights came back on in some of the team garage - prompting ironic cheers from personnel up and down the pit lane. However, it took a little longer for the floodlights to come back on, meaning the cars had to wait for a few minutes longer before they could head back out onto the circuit.
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While Russell was among the drivers who had his running interrupted by the power cut, his new team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli had a smooth first day of testing. He topped the timesheets at the end of the morning's running, though lap times are largely irrelevant at this point of pre-season.
Lewis Hamilton also got his running out of the way in the earlier session, going fifth fastest of the 10 drivers who took part in the first four hours. He had already taken his overalls off for the day and handed the car over to Charles Leclerc before the power issues began.
It took more than an hour for all the floodlights to turn back on. But eventually, there was enough light to satisfy race control and at 3.10pm UK time, with 50 minutes remaining of the first day's running, the green flags began to fly and teams wasted no time before sending their cars back out on track.