The track action resumed after repairs at Turn 11 with the typical midday break eliminated and the session scheduled to continue until 7 p.m. local time (1600 GMT).
Testing came to a halt on Thursday when Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes and Charles Leclerc of Ferrari drove over the loose cover, resulting in the replacement of the latter’s car floor.
Carlos Sainz concluded the second day of testing as the fastest driver, as the afternoon session was extended to five hours and ten minutes to accommodate a Safety Car test and track systems check.
On Friday, Sergio Perez of Red Bull dislodged a different drain cover at the same turn with 27 minutes remaining in the session, once again prompting the red flags and necessitating further track repairs.
Car 11 🤝 Turn 11
This time it’s Perez who dislodges the offending piece of kerb#F1Testing #F1 pic.twitter.com/xzNi1xbDla
— Formula 1 (@F1) February 23, 2024
Carlos Sainz of Ferrari had been the fastest driver before the latest suspension, also topping the timesheets on Thursday.
Drivers are only given a day and a half of pre-season testing, with a total of three days allocated for teams to test with one car each. Some have expressed that three days is inadequate for fully understanding the highly advanced new cars.
The first race of the season will take place at the same Bahrain circuit on the following Saturday. (Reported by Alan Baldwin)
According to the Source grandprix247.com