Adrian Newey details why modern F1 cars keep getting their drain covers loose after Mercedes and Ferrari incident in winter preseason

Red Bull chief technical officer Adrian Newey reacted to the drain cover incident that affected two cars on the second day of testing, blaming the weight and size of the current spec cars.

On Day 2 of F1's Bahrain pre-season testing, Charles Leclerc ran over a loose drain cover on turn 11 of the Sakhir Circuit, which hit his SF-24, damaging the floor.

He was followed by Lewis Hamilton in the W15, whose car also hit the same cover. While the latter did not suffer from major damage, the Ferrari's floor had to be changed and the session was stopped.

Defending world champions Red Bull also suffered a similar fate when Sergio Perez's RB20 hit the drain cover. The team's technical officer analyzed and told AmUS that the weight of the current cars is a major reason this keeps happening.

"The cars are too big and too heavy. That's why this keeps happening."

Carlos Sainz of Ferrari had struggled with the same issue during the Las Vegas GP weekend in 2023 when his car hit a drain cover, damaging the floor which had to be replaced before the race.

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Adrian Newey was voted 2024 World Car Person of The Year

Red Bull's CTO was awarded the World Car Person of The Year title by a jury of over 100 journalists from 29 countries.

The team's 2023 challenger, the RB19, has been dubbed the most successful car in the history of F1. The car won 21 of the 22 races held during the season and assisted Max Verstappen in winning his third consecutive world championship and Red Bull their sixth constructors' championship.

Newey was nominated alongside Stephan Durach (Vice President of the BMW Group), Andreas Preuininger of Porsche, Maruti-Suzuki CTO CV Raman and Lisa Reeves, Head of Interior Design at Volvo Cars.

Heading into the 2024 season of F1, Adrian Newey's latest creation, the RB20 has been stable while testing so far. The car has a different sidepod design from its predecessor, the effectiveness of which will be analyzed after racing hits later this month. The pods look flatter from the concept the team followed earlier.

Max Verstappen was on the top of the timings at the end of day one of the pre-season testing. However, he dropped down to fourth place on the final day as Charles Leclerc took the lead.