Pre-season testing for the Formula 1 World Championship in Bahrain was halted on Thursday after the floor of Charles Leclerc's Ferrari was damaged by a manhole cover. Ferrari stated that the floor of the new "SF-24" car was replaced following the incident during the morning session at the Sakhir circuit. The session was stopped - the first red flag of the year - and was not resumed as repairs were made at Turn 11, with an afternoon session delayed by one hour to make up for lost time.
Television footage showed Leclerc, who was the fastest during the tests, and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes as they drove over the manhole cover with debris scattering into the air. It appeared that Leclerc lifted the cover before Hamilton passed by, and then the Ferrari car went over the same area for a second time. The Ferrari also sustained damage in Las Vegas last November when Carlos Sainz hit a drain cover during the first tests, leading to a stoppage.
All teams have only three days of testing - a day and a half for each driver - before the championship kicks off with 24 races in Bahrain on March 2, and every minute of running in preparation for the new season is extremely valuable. Leclerc recorded the fastest lap time of 1 minute and 31.750 seconds, while McLaren's Oscar Piastri was 0.578 seconds slower and Logan Sargent of Williams finished third, 0.828 seconds off the pace. Max Verstappen of Red Bull, a three-time world champion, was the quickest on Wednesday, although the times mean little as teams focus on their respective programs, while his teammate Sergio Perez had his turn today. The Mexican driver faced issues with brake overheating and finished fourth, ahead of Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin and Hamilton.
