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Formula 1 Bahrain March testing

F1 Bahrain 2021 pre-season testing - Day 1

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News from Mercedes on its issue: "We have a gearshift problem and are swapping the gearbox to get back out on the track, then we will diagnose the problem with the original box."

It is all going on - Verstappen suffers a spin between Turns 2 and 3. All OK though, as the Red Bull driver gets going again, but only tentatively around the rest of the lap before pitting.

Problems for Mercedes? The big black screens have come up in front of the garage just after the car was fired up. Bottas has only completed three laps so far today.

Breaking news

It was a well-known secret by Mercedes from its W12 F1 car launch, but the team’s car floor is a secret no more. Here's the full story and first look at Mercedes floor.

Nissany's stint only lasts two laps before he pits again for Williams. Leclerc, in the Ferrari with the bright green Mission Winnow logo on the engine cover, starts a run on the C2 tyres.

Nissany, the Williams test driver debuting the FW43B, is out for his first long run after an installation lap this morning. He gets the braking wrong at Turn 1 and runs wide.

Stopwatch

Raikkonen, starting the umpteenth F1 pre-season testing lap of his career, is now fastest with a 1m34.686s for Alfa Romeo.

Photo

Cars on track! Look - here's the proof!

 

 

Gasly and his sails sees him post a 1m41.743s to comfortably slot into P3 and last of the drivers to set lap times of note so far. All 10 teams have been in action, so no major concerns to report just yet.

Gasly’s AlphaTauri wins the award for the widest aero rake of 2021. It is so large behind the front tyres it looks like it is destabilising the F1 car under braking. Like having sails attached to the bows.

 
Stopwatch

Sebastian Vettel, the new Aston Martin driver, provides the next timed effort to go top with a 1m36.367s. It is going to take a while to get used to seeing him in green.

Stopwatch

Leclerc delivers the first representative timed lap of the day with a 1m37.481s. That puts the Ferrari driver at the top of the times. Obviously.

That's not such a factor this year with the huge amount of carryover for 2021. Raikkonen is already joined by Vettel, Ricciardo, Leclerc, Gasly, Verstappen and Ocon.

Raikkonen wins the race to be first out on the track! That's the season decided... well not really, but once upon a time being first out in pre-season testing tended to hint who was the best prepared.

Green flag
The green flag waves at the end of pitlane - F1 pre-season testing for 2021 is go!
Plenty of shots of drivers being strapped into their respective F1 cars, so here we go!
That means no sluggish starts are expected this morning. With such a short amount of total track time for each driver they will want to be completing as many laps as possible.
Sun

In reality though, at this time of year Bahrain is a much more suitable test venue. No chilly starts or major risk of rain curtailing running. In fact, there is a 0% chance of rain today and the air temperature is already a lovely 27oC. Toasty.

But why is F1 testing in Bahrain this year, I hear you ask at the back. F1 isn't in its familiar setting of Barcelona for testing this year amid the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, while logistically it is easier for all involved to test in Bahrain as the nation is also hosting the 2021 opener at the end of the month.
For a full run down of what's coming up over the next three days and how to keep tabs on what happens on the track, here's a handy guide to keep close.

Time for a quick run through on who is in action today. All 10 teams - obviously - will be aiming to get as many laps in as possible given the shorter nature of testing this year with just three days of track action available.

Here's who is in each F1 car for today:

Mercedes: Bottas (am), Hamilton (pm)

Red Bull: Verstappen

McLaren: Ricciardo (am), Norris (pm)

Aston Martin: Vettel (am), Stroll (pm)

Alpine: Ocon

Ferrari: Leclerc (am), Sainz (pm)

AlphaTauri: Gasly (am), Tsunoda (pm)

Alfa Romeo: Raikkonen (am), Giovinazzi (pm)

Haas: Schumacher (am), Mazepin (pm)

Williams: Nissany

Plenty of new faces, new team colours and even a few new team names to spot, as it has been a very busy winter for F1 preparing for the new season. Track action starts in 30 minutes to commence three days of pre-season action, but then that’s your lot until the opening race in two weeks’ time.

Good morning one and all, it has been 89 long days since the chequered flag waved at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix but never fear – Formula 1 is back for 2021!

By: Haydn Cobb, Tom Howard, James Newbold, Jake Boxall-Legge

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