F1 pre-season testing suspended… after a broken window falls on track
Bizarre scenes from Bahrain.
Formula 1 pre-season testing was briefly red-flagged on Friday thanks to a bizarre incident where a shattered window ended up on the circuit.
Pre-season testing has been taking place at the Bahrain International Circuit this week ahead of the opening race of 2025 in Australia on March 16.
The test offers drivers like Sir Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen the only real chance to get used to their cars before the racing begins but the past few days have not been smooth running.
On Wednesday, a power cut at the track stopped testing for a couple of hours but there was an even stranger incident on the third and final day.
With just 47 minutes left of Friday’s morning session, the red flag was waved and running stopped after a large pile of shattered glass all of sudden appeared on the start-finish line.
It was quickly deduced that the glass was from one of the windows from the start-finish box which sits on the pitwall just above the circuit and is used by the race director to control the starting grid and lights.
Footage showed a massive gap where the window should have been though commentators were left completely baffled as to how the glass shattered.
‘I wonder if a glass panel has exploded. It sometimes happens in heat. Glass can do this,’ Sky Sports commentator David Croft said.
‘What? How does that happen?’ former F1 driver Karun Chandhok asked.
‘I’ve heard of glass cracking where it’s cold. Are we sure the man didn’t just bump the window out?’
At the time of writing, neither F1 nor the FIA have commented on the incident.
Thankfully, marshals were able to sweep away the debris and the session resumed just 12 minutes later.
Hamilton’s Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc finished fastest in the end but was only 0.077 seconds quicker than Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli.
Bookies favourite Lando Norris of McLaren was third, ahead of reigning champions Verstappen in his Red Bull.
More to follow…
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