Formula 1 testing was suspended less than half an hour into the morning session for another loose drain cover at the Bahrain International Circuit.
The same drain cover greed itself from the kerbs yesterday, forcing a lengthy delay. Track staff immeditaely busied themselves with repairs while the clock continued ticking on the final day of the Formula 1 preseason.
Reigning champion Max Verstappen led the field on the opening day in his drastically new-look Red Bull, before Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz set the fastest time on Thursday.
Now the teams will be desperate to complete their scheduled testing on a high, garnering valuable data ahead of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix next weekend.
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Eyes will be on Daniel Ricciardo’s newly rebranded RB team, which is caught in a political row that spectacularly flared overnight in a clash of team bosses.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown has been on the warpath against Red Bull’s ownership of both Red Bull Racing and the renamed RB, formerly AlphaTauri.
RB, which is headquartered in northern Italy, is strengthening ties with the senior team this year, including by buying adopting more Red Bull Racing parts in its 2024 car.
Its UK design office has also relocated to Milton Keynes on the Red Bull Racing campus to make greater use of Red Bull-owned facilities and resources.
The team is quietly confident of having made a step forward during the off-season, and the VCARB-01 has been consistently impressive through testing so far. Riccairdo has said he thinks RB can be competing at the top of the midfield by the end of the year.
A major uptick in performance is likely to raise the ire of other midfield teams.
In a press conference late on Thursday, Brown argued that the FIA needed to rewrite the rules to prevent dual ownership for the integrity of the competition.
“No other sport to my knowledge allows co-ownership of two teams that compete against each other,” he said.
“I think the sport, as we’re now in the budget cap era, has moved on to where we’re trying to have 10 independent teams from a sporting, from a political and from a technical point of view.
“I think they are very much playing by the rules. I have an issue with the rules and believe the FIA needs to address this.”
Horner hit back, arguing that no brand has been as commited to Formula 1 as Red Bull, which was encouraged by the sport to buy the Faenza team when it risked collapse in its former guise as Minardi.
“I don’t understand the fuss about it,” he said. “I don’t understand the noise that’s being created about it.
“I think Red Bull should actually be applauded for the support and the commitment and the jobs that they’ve provided through the good times and particularly through the bad times.
“For me it really is a non-issue.”
A big final-day performance from RB is sure to see the matter rumble into the first round, where the extent of the team’s gains will finally become clear.
DAY ONE
Wrap: Ricciardo’s ‘straight out of box’ statement as Red Bull ominous after radical move
What we learned: How Ricciardo surprise turned heads at testing… and added fuel to Red Bull fire
DAY TWO
Wrap: ‘Push the bar’: Riccardo turns heads in another warning shot amid drain chaos
What we learned: ‘Be careful’ — What Ferrari stunner really means
SESSION TIMES (AEDT)
Morning session: 6-9pm
Afternoon session: 10pm – 1am Saturday
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