Test in Bahrain temporarily suspended: Here's what's going on!
Breaking News
- Ludo van Denderen
The test in Bahrain has been halted with two hours to go. The whole of te Bahrain International Circuit was plunged into darkness, with several teams' garages also without lights and power, meaning the torches have had to be brought out.
In the garages, the teams continue to work, but only thanks to the light from their torches, with some of the drivers helping out by using their mobile phones to provide some light. The big question is when the session will restart, as the session clock is continuing to tick down, finishing at 17:00 GMT - the intended end point of the day.
Track and garages plunged into darkness
Teams already have little time to test in a year, so every minute is important, meaning a problem like this is something that F1 teams cannot afford and could be hugely detrimental. The drivers in the afternoon session will certainly be disappointed, because they will only be in action for three half days. Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc and George Russell are some of these drivers who had to watch the morning session while their teammates were behind the wheel.
However, it is still possible to share TV images from Bahrain, with that power probably coming from generators to keep the pictures coming, as TV companies usually do for sports events.
Update: Power is back on in Bahrain, but not everywhere
After the power outage surprised teams and drivers up and down the paddock, after almost 30 minutes, Bahrain track personnel have been able to restore the power, however, there are still some sections that are still without light, such as the Media Center, and much of the track itself.
As of yet Race Direction is still to issue any type of information as to when the session will be resumed. According to reports directly from the track there are spots of rain in the Bahrain International Circuit.
This article was written in collaboration with Olly Darcy
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