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Formula 1 Bahrain March Testing

F1 Bahrain pre-season test - Day 1

Minute by minute updates on the opening day of the 2022 Bahrain F1 pre-season test

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W13, Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB18

All 10 teams are set to be in action for the first day of the Bahrain pre-season test, fresh off the back of the Barcelona shakedown test two weeks ago which saw the debut of the new era of F1 with the new cars devised under the new technical regulations.

Track action gets underway at 7am GMT and finishes at 4pm GMT. The day will be split by a one-hour lunch break (11am-12pm GMT) which can be reduced if requested due to lost track time from either red flags or poor weather conditions.

The opening day will provide a first look at what changes each team has made to the cars following the Barcelona pre-season shakedown test, as teams search for ways to solve the porpoising phenomenon which cropped up in the shakedown test.

Haas is set to miss the morning session after a late arrival of freight due to transport delays, with reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi prepared to drive the VF-22 this afternoon for the US team.

On the eve of the Bahrain test, Haas announced Kevin Magnussen would make a return to F1 to replace Nikita Mazepin following the termination of his contract, while the team also cut ties to title sponsor Uralkali due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Bahrain pre-season test will take place on 10-12 March ahead of the 2022 F1 season opener at the same venue, the Bahrain Grand Prix, on 18-20 March.

Live Standings

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Summary

  • Leaderboard
    1. Gasly, AlphaTauri, 1m33.902s, C4 - 103 laps
    2. Sainz, Ferrari - 1m34.359s, C3 - 52
    3. Leclerc, Ferrari, 1m34.531s, C3 - 64 
    4. Stroll, Aston Martin, 1m34.736s, C4 - 50
    5. Albon, Williams, 1m35.070s, C4 - 104
    6. Norris, McLaren, 1m35.356s, C2 - 50
    7. Bottas, Alfa Romeo, 1m35.495s, C3 - 66
    8. Vettel, Aston Martin, 1m35.706s, C3 - 39
    9. Russell, Mercedes, 1m35.941s, C3 - 60
    10. Perez, Red Bull, 1m35.977s, C2 - 138
    11. Hamilton, Mercedes, 1m36.365s, C3 - 62
    12. Alonso, Alpine, 1m36.745s, C3 - 24
    13. Ocon, Alpine, 1m36.768s, C2 - 42
    14. Zhou, Alfa Romeo, 1m37.164s, C3 - 54
    15. Fittipaldi, Haas, 1m38.527s, C2 prototype - 47
  • Summary
    • Pierre Gasly tops first day of Bahrain test
    • Day ended by red flag for a slow-speed Perez spin
    • Mercedes shows off bold sidepod design
    • Haas made it onto the track with reserve driver Fittipaldi after freight delay causes it to miss the morning's running

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Checkered flag
That's all from us today folks - thanks for joining us! We'll be back tomorrow for more testing fun, so we'll see you then!
Breaking news

2022 F1 Bahrain test: Gasly outpaces Sainz to lead Day 1

A spin for Sergio Perez under the virtual safety car in Bahrain helped Pierre Gasly top the times on the opening day of the second 2022 Formula 1 pre-season test.

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/2022-f1-bahrain-test-gasly-outpaces-sainz-to-lead-day-1/8873097/

 

F1 Bahrain pre-season test - Day 1 team lap count

  1. Red Bull - 138 laps
  2. Mercedes - 122
  3. Alfa Romeo - 120
  4. Ferrari - 116
  5. Williams - 104
  6. AlphaTauri - 103
  7. Aston Martin - 89
  8. Alpine - 66
  9. McLaren - 50
  10. Haas - 47
Checkered flag
The session will not be resumed, so that's Gasly P1, from Sainz, Leclerc, Stroll, Albon and Norris.
Ah, Perez just went around at a glacial pace, let the car roll back and it unceremoniously dropped a wheel into the tiny patch of gravel. That was a bit of a damp squib, really...
Red flag
And Perez brings the session to a presumed end, beaching the rear of his Red Bull at Turn 8!

Artist's impression of how Russell feels with his multiple lock-ups...

 

Yellow flag
Russell's locked up at Turn 10 again, which puts a damper on that lap. Meanwhile, we've got a VSC for unrelated reasons - merely a rehearsal for the FIA to check its systems.
Sainz, meanwhile, moves up to second place on the C3s, posting a 1m34.359s - 0.172s clear of team-mate Leclerc, who headed this morning's session.
Fittipaldi has just run over a plastic bag on the straight, the second Haas driver in a week to pack his bags...
Gasly is next to join today's century club, hitting triple figures with Sergio Perez and Alex Albon. Adding team laps together, Ferrari, Mercedes and Alfa Romeo have managed to get over 100 laps too.
Norris gets his best time of the day in, a 1m35.356s on the C2 tyre to go P6.
Alonso, meanwhile, does a 1m38.647s on his 20th lap as he continues to get some late mileage. Stroll, having gone wide earlier on, is right behind him and dives past at Turn 1! Alonso races him back and returns the favour at Turn 4 - but Stroll does him around the outside and stays ahead! Lovely racing.
Stopwatch
Gasly on the C5s goes even quicker, sticking in a 1m33.902s to go even faster at the top. He's quickest in the second sector again, but he's not interrupted this time.
Alonso's back out, but the pace on what again looks like a faster lap begins to fall away - as he backs off on the penultimate straight. Perez is also back out for the final half-hour of running.
Russell 'enjoys' another lock-up at Turn 10, while Gasly's fastest middle sector goes to waste as the AlphaTauri driver gets a little held up by Fittipaldi in the last sector.
Norris is currently having a few troubles with keeping his MCL36 on the road, finding a lot of understeer in the McLaren. He's returned to the pits, as Fittipaldi has another deep moment on the brakes at Turn 1.
Stroll, meanwhile, leapfrogs Albon with a 1m34.736s on the C4s. Currently, no other improvements out there.
Fernando Alonso, only logging his 16th lap of the day, looked set to get himself off the bottom of the timing boards - but immediately returns to the pits. What a tease.
Gasly was quickest in sectors 1 and 3, add in Leclerc's best sector 2 time and we'd have a 1m33.982s. Hopefully we'll get into that kind of territory relatively swiftly.
Stopwatch
But that Ferrari stranglehold over today's times is declared over, as Gasly fires in a 1m34.010s to go top on C4 tyres.
Alex Kalinauckas
Alex Kalinauckas

"Sainz did a practice start just now, followed by a plume of smoke as he went to the higher gears. That's most likely oil overfill, rather than anything sinister."

Stopwatch
We've got some more improvements coming in, starting with Russell going P8 with a 1m35.941s, before Sainz goes up to second with a 1m34.713s to enact a Ferrari 1-2 as things stand.
And lo, it came to pass that Sieur Pierre of Gasly galloped into second, brandishing a 1m34.800s to stand but a whisker away from Sieur Charles of Leclerc.
Gasly now heads out as well as we get into the final hour of today's running. He's out on the C3 tyre, adding to his 84 laps already logged today.
Stroll moves up to P3 on the C4 tyres, setting a 1m35.219s to move ahead of Bottas - who's the only other car on the road at the moment.
Alex Kalinauckas
Alex Kalinauckas

"Some notes: Russell is struggling in Turns 9/10, where Gasly just had a massive lock up too. The wind is very gusty and inconsistent, with a tailwind as the drivers brake. Oh, and the Alfa wheel covers are 🔥🔥 in person!"

 

Norris has a bit of an off at *checks notes* Turn 9, which is unusual to see. He's back in the box, now sitting on 40 laps for the day. Just Bottas, Sainz and Russell on the road as it stands.
We've not seen a lot of Lando Norris today, McLaren grappling with a few suspected brake issues this morning. He's up to P8 on his 38th lap of the day, on the C2 rubber.
Sainz then nudges Stroll out of sixth place, setting a 1m35.600s on the C2 rubber on his 30th lap of the day. That's 94 laps for Ferrari in total today.
Lance Stroll leaps up to P6, posting a 1m35.859s - both Aston drivers in the top six as it stands. Meanwhile, Alex Albon reported a steering issue, but that seems to be more problematic on his on-board. Williams will have to check the hydraulics out.
With the front-end camera view of Russell's car, you can see a little bit of wing flex as he gets on the gas. And before anyone writes in to ask if that's legal, wings do that under load. It's just hypnotic...like a lava lamp.
The sun is beginning to set now, so track temperatures will naturally fall. So hopefully, we'll see some lap times drop towards the end of the day. That'd be fun.
Alex Albon now joins Perez in the 100-club for today, as his friend and predecessor George Russell goes up to P7 with a 1m36.030s on the C3 tyre.
A big thanks to Mr. Duncan there, doing an excellent job despite the distinct absence of Fabio Quartararo - much appreciated, sir.
With just over 90 minutes left of the first day of Bahrain testing, I shall hand over to the pun master and technical expert himself Jake Boxall-Legge. Take it away, JBL!

By: Haydn Cobb

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