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The third day of 2024 F1 pre-season testing was red-flagged after a loose drain cover was dislodged after Sergio Perez's car went over it. This is the second time a drain cover has come unstuck at the Bahrain International Circuit during the pre-season testing, with the first such instance on day two.
During the morning session of the third day of pre-season testing, Sergio Perez's car went over the drain cover at turn 11, which caused it to come out of its place. As a result, the session was red-flagged 20 minutes after it started.
The track marshals, FIA, and F1 management arrived at the scene to fix the drain cover as quickly as possible. However, the teams lost quite a lot of track time while the issue was rectified.
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Soon after the testing session was red-flagged, many F1 fans hopped on X (formerly Twitter) and criticized the track management for not being able to keep the track in one piece.
They joked about how loose drain covers have now stopped three F1 sessions, twice during the 2024 pre-season testing, and once at the Las Vegas GP in 2023.
Here are some of the comments:
"Drain Cover 3 - 0 Formula 1," a fan wrote.
Some fans discussed how increased downforce from modern F1 cars will force drain covers to pop out frequently. They feel that this could be a recurring issue in the future.
"The fact that these cars now produce so much downforce from their underfloors, I think this is going to be a recurring issue now," another fan wrote.
Red Bull aero wizard gives his view on F1 cars dislodging drain covers
Red Bull's chief technical officer, Adrian Newey, recently gave his views on why F1 cars were dislodging drain covers on tracks so frequently.
The 2024 pre-season testing was red-flagged for the second time in two days due to a dislodged drain cover at the Bahrain International Circuit. Sergio Perez's RB20 dislodged the drain cover on day three of testing.
When Adrian Newey was asked by AMuS about why the cars were having issues with drain covers, he simply said that the cars were 'too big and heavy', so much so that they caused the drain covers to pop out.
"The cars are too big and too heavy. That's why this keeps happening," said Newey.
After Sergio Perez's car returned to the garage, Newey and several other engineers took a peek at the floor of the car for damage.
