The second day of Formula 1’s only pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit proved to be a productive one for Scuderia Ferrari, with a total of 141 laps (763 kilometres) with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz at the wheel. The numbers could have been higher but for a problem experienced by Charles which led to the session being stopped for everyone for quite some time.
Morning. The problem in question was down to an external factor in the shape of a drain cover lifted out of the kerb at turn 11 as Lewis Hamilton drove over it just seconds before Leclerc came along. Charles hit the cover which damaged the floor on the SF-24. The session was red flagged for over an hour to check all the drain covers as a precaution. Up to that point, the Monegasque had completed 36 laps with a best time of 1’31”750.
Afternoon. The afternoon session started an hour earlier to make up for the time lost in the morning and Leclerc was back behind the wheel in the afternoon to complete his programme, continuing an evaluation of the car, trying different settings with various fuel loads, while sticking to the same C3 compound. Charles did a further 18 laps, without improving on his best time, bringing his total for the day to 54 laps (292.2 km) before handing over to Sainz. With Charles’ short afternoon session over, the mechanics changed the SF-24 configuration to suit Carlos and the Spaniard stepped into the cockpit at 3pm. He also worked on set-up and evaluating the car running the C3 compound, with a best time of 1’31”397. However, unlike his team-mate, Carlos also ran the Soft C4 and a low fuel load to start looking at a qualifying set-up, setting his personal best time of 1’29”921. After that, he spent the rest of the time doing long runs, completing a total of 87 laps, equivalent to 470.8 kilometres.
One more day. For tomorrow’s final day of testing in Sakhir, Carlos will be first out on track, with Charles taking over for the afternoon.
Carlos Sainz #55