2022 Formula 1 Bahrain March testing
Live text
F1 Bahrain pre-season test - Day 1
Minute by minute updates on the opening day of the 2022 Bahrain F1 pre-season test
Live Text
Sort by
Here's a shot of the returning Kevin Magnussen speaking to the media from our Grand Prix Editor Alex Kalinauckas. I can't imagine anyone in Bahrain right now is as excited as KMag is!
Stroll, meanwhile, has a big lockup on his C2 tyre at Turn 10. If we had a pound for every time we saw an F1 car locked up at that corner, we'd be able to buy the Bahrain circuit!
Also out on track right now is Bottas in the Alfa Romeo, as we see a replay of his replacement Russell making a bit of a mess of the last corner and running out wide.
Quote
"Please keep an eye on clutch panel. It seems awfully close to my knees"," Russell says, as his engineer counters that it looks okay on the pitwall.
While the cameras are fixed on a bouncing Russell, the likes of Sainz in the Ferrari, AlphaTauri's Gasly, Stroll in the Aston Martin and Williams driver Albon are out on track.
Quote
Russell has just complained of a lot of "bottoming - but not severe bumps". It looks like a rough ride out there for him.
Judging by the time deficit to the best lap of the day thus far, which is still Leclerc's session one time, Russell is doing some high fuel running.
George Russell goes onto a hot lap on the C3 tyre in his Mercedes... which has entirely too many wheels as far as I'm concerned.
Photo
"Spears shall be shaken; doors will be splintered"
Afternoon everyone, big hand to Newbold and Megan for taking you through the middle part of the day. JBL is back for a second stint, but firstly, Lewis Duncan will refrain from talking about two-wheeled things for a bit to kick off the final three hours.
Another quick lap from Sainz there, beating his previous time by 0.8s to go up to P10
Stopwatch
Sainz sets a 1m40.488s on the soft tyre, putting him in P12 for the day
Carlos Sainz is finally getting out on track for his first run of the day
Green flag
The track is now clear, so hopefully we'll see some more action soon
Red flag
Red flag so a remaining piece of aero rake can be removed from the track
Something has fallen off Lance Stroll's Aston Martin - looks like the aero rakes have become dislodged and are rubbing against the tyres
The track is looking a bit busier now, with Albon, Perez, Alonso, Fittipaldi, Bottas and Stroll all putting in laps
Stopwatch
Fittipaldi sets a 1m42.639s in the Haas
Alex Albon has also joined the on-track action, with Bottas heading out for a second run
Stopwatch
Alonso sets a 1m41.506s, also on the C2 hard compound
Fernando Alonso is heading out now too, taking over the reins of the Alpine A522 from Esteban Ocon
Sergio Perez has now headed out on track for Red Bull after putting in 70 laps this morning
Stopwatch
Bottas sets his first lap of the day with a 1m44.190s on the C2 tyre
Good news from Ferrari - the floor is back on, so Carlos Sainz should be taking to the track shortly
Valtteri Bottas is now also out on track in his Alfa Romeo
15 minutes into the afternoon session and just a lonely Lando out on track at the moment
Lots of work going on down at Ferrari with the screens up in front of the garage while they remove the floor from the F1-75
Stopwatch
Norris sets a 1m40.711s lap on the C2 hard tyre
Pietro Fittipaldi heads straight back into the garage after just one lap, while Lando Norris starts a quick lap
Lando Norris is next out the garage for McLaren
Haas are first out on track! Freight delays meant they were unable to take part in this morning's session so this is their first running of the test
No sign of anybody heading out on track just yet...
Green flag
Green flag! The afternoon's running starts now
Just five minutes to go until the green flag - will Ferrari top the times again this afternoon? Or could Mercedes go quickest with their radical new sidepod design?
10 minutes to go until the afternoon session kicks off in Bahrain!
With 20 minutes to go until the afternoon session, here's who'll be on track for the second half of today's running:
Red Bull: Perez
Ferrari: Sainz
McLaren: Norris
Alpine: Alonso
AlphaTauri: Gasly
Aston Martin: Stroll
Williams: Albon
Alfa Romeo: Bottas
Haas: Fittipaldi
F1 Bahrain pre-season test day 1 afternoon line-ups
Mercedes: RussellRed Bull: Perez
Ferrari: Sainz
McLaren: Norris
Alpine: Alonso
AlphaTauri: Gasly
Aston Martin: Stroll
Williams: Albon
Alfa Romeo: Bottas
Haas: Fittipaldi
While the only track action at the moment is coming from the safety car, I'll hand you over to Megan White who will keep things ticking over for the next hour-and-a-bit.
Paddock talk today has been dominated by the Mercedes sidepod solution. But Jonathan Noble says teams should write off Red Bull at their peril - particularly given Adrian Newey's past experience with ground effect, making him unique among current F1 tech figures. Here's this week's column for Plus subscribers: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/the-university-project-that-neweys-rivals-should-not-forget/8846726/
By: Haydn Cobb
Published:
Lap:
