Bahrain third 2014 test Test day three
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The Ferrari did pit as expected, and Magnussen joins the fray to get all four Mercedes-powered cars on track.
This run opens with a gentle 1m46s from Raikkonen, but he follows that up with a 1m37.7s, suggesting this will be another short run.
Raikkonen returns to the track again after a break of just over five minutes in the pits. Is it time for his long runs yet?
Vettel's attire in that shot below doesn't suggest the Red Bull is on the verge of heading back out just yet.
The Mercedes-powered cars of Massa, Hulkenberg and Rosberg are all adding to their tally at the moment.
Let's have a catch-up with where everyone is at in terms of lap count for today:
Ericsson (Caterham) 69
Hulkenberg (Force India) 59
Bianchi (Marussia) 55
Massa (Williams) 50
Kvyat (Toro Rosso) 41
Magnussen (McLaren) 36
Rosberg (Mercedes) 34
Raikkonen (Ferrari) 23
Grosjean (Lotus) 28
Sutil (Sauber) 1
Vettel (Red Bull) 0.5
Ericsson (Caterham) 69
Hulkenberg (Force India) 59
Bianchi (Marussia) 55
Massa (Williams) 50
Kvyat (Toro Rosso) 41
Magnussen (McLaren) 36
Rosberg (Mercedes) 34
Raikkonen (Ferrari) 23
Grosjean (Lotus) 28
Sutil (Sauber) 1
Vettel (Red Bull) 0.5
Sebastian Vettel
A favourite hobby for F1 photographers in Bahrain has been to track down the spot where Renault teams and drivers tend to hang out while enduring technical problems.
Here's evidence from the last hour that Sebastian Vettel is still smiling despite his failure to complete a lap today. Not just smiling, grinning.
Ferrari is clearly working on speed over long runs at this stage of the afternoon, as Raikkonen goes second fastest with a 1m36.9s.
Quote
Magnussen has a lot to get his head around as he adapts to life as a rookie in F1, but so far he has looked comfortable. He's been in good spirits in Bahrain over these two tests.
"I'm just enjoying it. This is amazing for me. I'm dreaming! It's overwhelming, everyday when I wake up and go to the track. I need to get used to that and just get on with the job.
"I don't think it will ever go away, because it's a dream come true. But I feel I belong here."
He follows that previous slow lap up with a 1m37.2s.
"I'm just enjoying it. This is amazing for me. I'm dreaming! It's overwhelming, everyday when I wake up and go to the track. I need to get used to that and just get on with the job.
"I don't think it will ever go away, because it's a dream come true. But I feel I belong here."
He follows that previous slow lap up with a 1m37.2s.
Kimi Raikkonen
Ferrari's pace picking up will please Fernando Alonso.
Although the car has looked increasingly good this week, yesterday the Spaniard said the focus for the weekend had to be on finding more speed.
EDD STRAW assessed where Ferrari stood as this test began on Thursday:
Prancing or limping horse?
Magnussen follows up that session-topping time with a slow lap that is over the 2-minute mark.
Stopwatch
Raikkonen isn't the only driver going quicker. Magnussen goes fastest by a second in the McLaren, with best sector times through all three segments of the lap.
Another improvement for the Ferrari, as Raikkonen finds another tenth of a second. If the car remains reliable this afternoon, expect to see the 2007 world champion logging a lot of laps.
Raikkonen moves up to fifth as he finds 1.5 seconds. He's still playing catch-up today, with only 16 laps to his name.
Force India reports that Hulkenberg will be focusing on long runs this afternoon.
That mirrors the programme the team carried out with Sergio Perez over the first two days of the test.
That mirrors the programme the team carried out with Sergio Perez over the first two days of the test.
Breaking news
While there's not much going on, here's a recap of how the day has played out so far:
*Vettel manages half a lap across two attempted runs for Red Bull
*Massa sets the pace as Williams focuses on performance
*Sutil comes to a smokey halt after just one lap
*Mercedes performs an engine change before heading out
*Vettel manages half a lap across two attempted runs for Red Bull
*Massa sets the pace as Williams focuses on performance
*Sutil comes to a smokey halt after just one lap
*Mercedes performs an engine change before heading out
The McLaren comes in, leaving Hulkenberg's Force India alone on track.
Magnussen's pace has only dropped slightly as this run continues. He's lapping around 1m38s now.
AUTOSPORT thinks that picture makes it look like Vettel's pushing the RB10 to a scrutineering bay at a clubbie meeting. Sadly for him SEMSEC Open Single-Seaters is no more.
Magnussen moves up to second in the McLaren, getting within half a second of Massa's best from this morning.
Sebastian Vettel
That's still a lot more laps than Red Bull has achieved today, with Vettel struggling to get beyond the pitlane so far on his penultimate day of pre-season running.
But at least, as this picture shows, he's still helping the marshals rather than walking off in a huff as many might expect.
Raikkonen, with only 11 laps to his name so far today, finds nearly a second over his previous best lap.
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One of the strange sensations of watching Formula 1 cars in action this year is listening to the upshifts of cars. The torque of the new 2014 turbocharged engines means that the timing of gearshifts is not as critical as before, so you get a variety between drivers. According to Jenson Button, a lot of it is down to personal preference:
"It doesn't really matter, it pulls in any gear. In Jerez Kevin was shifting four or five thousand revs before I was but the exit speeds were the same so the gears don't matter so much these days. They really don't. Strange!"
"It doesn't really matter, it pulls in any gear. In Jerez Kevin was shifting four or five thousand revs before I was but the exit speeds were the same so the gears don't matter so much these days. They really don't. Strange!"
Rosberg gets straight down to work with a stint consistently lapping in the 1m41s.
Rosberg and Magnussen are on track too, and Grosjean kicks off Lotus's afternoon with a new personal best.
Green flag
The track is open again after lunch. Yesterday we had to wait nearly another 30 minutes to see a car after the end of the lunchbreak.
That's not the case today, as Raikkonen takes the Ferrari straight out.
Still no sign of that much-needed race simulation for the Finn so far, as we are halfway through his final day of pre-season.
That's not the case today, as Raikkonen takes the Ferrari straight out.
Still no sign of that much-needed race simulation for the Finn so far, as we are halfway through his final day of pre-season.
Adelaide
And yes F1 fans, the Adelaide venue used by V8s is a shortened version of the much-loved track that held the Australian GP from 1985-95.
So with Williams fastest in Bahrain this morning, here's a picture of Damon Hill on the way to winning in Adelaide for the team in the venue's final GP - in which he famously triumphed by two laps over Olivier Panis's Ligier (which was on the brink of blowing up) and Gianni Morbidelli's Arrows.
Is that the kind of attrition we'll be seeing in F1 again this season...? EDD STRAW certainly wouldn't mind:
Attrition would be F1's most welcome comeback
And to complete the nostalgia fix if you fancy, our stats partner FORIX - the world's most comprehensive motorsport database - has all the results, times, numbers, lapcharts etc from the 1995 Australian GP and every other race in F1 history:
1995 Australian GP stats on FORIX
That qualifying adjustment comes as NASCAR - of all things - takes a leaf out of F1's book for its grid-deciding format.
The Sprint Cup used its new knockout system for the first time at Phoenix on Friday.
You can follow the Phoenix race as it happens on AUTOSPORT Race Centre Live from 8pm UK time on Sunday night.
The NASCAR event is one of two major non-F1 races happening this weekend as the 2014 season begins to ramp up worldwide.
The V8 Supercars season kicked off in Adelaide earlier today, and while wins for Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes were fairly standard, Scott McLaughlin beating the champion to second in race two in the new Volvo S60 was a definite shock.
The Sprint Cup used its new knockout system for the first time at Phoenix on Friday.
You can follow the Phoenix race as it happens on AUTOSPORT Race Centre Live from 8pm UK time on Sunday night.
The NASCAR event is one of two major non-F1 races happening this weekend as the 2014 season begins to ramp up worldwide.
The V8 Supercars season kicked off in Adelaide earlier today, and while wins for Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes were fairly standard, Scott McLaughlin beating the champion to second in race two in the new Volvo S60 was a definite shock.
And while the toil goes on at Sakhir, some of the teams' top brass were meeting in England yesterday as the F1 Strategy Group came together to discuss the latest rounds of tweaks for the sport.
Extending the engine homologation deadline was dismissed (but Renault insists it doesn't mind), extending double points to three races was dismissed (and here's a reminder of why AUTOSPORT's JONATHAN NOBLE is firmly against the double points rule) but a shake-up for qualifying to ensure everyone takes Q3 seriously was agreed:
GP qualifying changes get approved
Extending the engine homologation deadline was dismissed (but Renault insists it doesn't mind), extending double points to three races was dismissed (and here's a reminder of why AUTOSPORT's JONATHAN NOBLE is firmly against the double points rule) but a shake-up for qualifying to ensure everyone takes Q3 seriously was agreed:
GP qualifying changes get approved
Breaking news
But what exactly does a team mean by "race sim"?
Last night GLENN FREEMAN pulled together what we know about the teams' relative states of Melbourne preparation so far, and got some inside info about why a 'race sim' might not be so impressive if it's only a 'soft' race sim.
Who is most ready for Melbourne?
Last night GLENN FREEMAN pulled together what we know about the teams' relative states of Melbourne preparation so far, and got some inside info about why a 'race sim' might not be so impressive if it's only a 'soft' race sim.
Who is most ready for Melbourne?
Twitter
While one of the back-of-the-grid teams prompted the red flag that allowed everyone to boil the kettle earlier than expected, the other is feeling pretty reliable this afternoon.
Here's the latest from Caterham:
"We very nearly completed our full race distance sim, only the late red flag prevented us from running the full planned distance..."
Here's the latest from Caterham:
"We very nearly completed our full race distance sim, only the late red flag prevented us from running the full planned distance..."
Breaking news
Felipe Massa
If you're just joining us, here's the full lowdown on the morning's events in Bahrain, as Felipe Massa and Williams set the pace, and Red Bull ran into yet more trouble:
Bahrain test Saturday am report
Twitter
A little info from Marussia, cause of this early lunch:
"Jules experienced a problem following his practice start which meant that he couldn't complete the lap. We're just diagnosing the issue."
"Jules experienced a problem following his practice start which meant that he couldn't complete the lap. We're just diagnosing the issue."
Checkered flag
Williams reveals on Twitter that the session will not restart before the lunchbreak, so that's it for the action until 13:30 local time.
One of the recovery vehicles is already on the scene, and Bianchi is out of the car.
The Marussia has pulled off the track and stopped between Turns 1 and 2.
Red flag
Less than 15 minutes until the lunch break and we have a red flag.
It's very windy out on track today. The drivers have a tailwind down the backstraight, but that means a fierce headwind down the start/finish straight.
GLENN FREEMAN can hear the front of the Mercedes floor touching the track when Rosberg brakes hard at the end of the back straight. This suggests he is carrying a heavy fuel load at the moment.
Nico Rosberg hasn't done many laps this morning, but that new Mercedes engine seems to be working reasonably well as he improves to third fastest.
By: Matt Beer, Glenn Freeman, Ben Anderson, Dan Cross
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