MOTOR RACING – An issue with drain covers, that arose during the pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit, has been ‘filled and fixed’ ahead of this weekend’s racing action.
Last Thursday and Friday, the F1 Aramco Pre-season Testing was halted due to loose drain covers at Turn 11 at the Sakhir circuit, that came undone when Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez drove over them.
“The issue that arose during testing was a result of a fault in specific areas that could not be identified through the normal testing process of drains,” a BIC spokesperson told the GDN.
Last Thursday, testing came to a halt when Hamilton and Leclerc ran over the loose cover, and the floor of the latter’s car had to be replaced.
The track action resumed after repairs at Turn 11 with the usual lunch break dropped.
On Friday, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez dislodged a different drain cover at the same turn with 27 minutes on the clock, again bringing out the red flags and further track repairs after an inspection.
“At the conclusion of Pre-season testing, BIC undertook a detailed review with the FIA race director (Niels Wittich) and in consultation with its circuit designers, Tilke. BIC and the FIA agreed a programme of works for the affected drain area, as well as other areas of the circuit where there could be potential issues with drains,” the spokesperson added.
The incidents brought up memories of a similar issue at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit that caused considerable and costly damage to Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari during last November’s inaugural Grand Prix in the American city.
Drain cover issues have become slightly more prevalent in recent times, due to the regulation changes in 2022 that saw the cars move to a ground-effect aerodynamic formula that creates massive suction effect as they drive at speed.
According to triple world champion Max Verstappen, the current high-downforce cars were making such incidents more likely with the suction of their aerodynamics.
To avoid any damage to cars and potential accidents, the BIC has filled in drains at the Sakhir circuit with concrete at Turn 11, as well as Turn 7.
“The schedule of works agreed included the filling in of drains with concrete in the affected area around turn 11, as well as an additional area around Turn 7,” the spokesperson added.
“Additional welding work in certain areas was also undertaken. This work is now complete and has been inspected and approved by the FIA race director.”
The BIC also noted that it had analysed the impact these measures would have on the circuit’s drainage system in the unlikely event of rain.
The analysis showed ‘filling in these drains will not have a material impact on the overall effectiveness of the drainage system at the circuit’.
naman@gdnmedia.bh
&uuid=(email))