The first day of testing for the new Formula 1 season was halted when a power cut hit the Bahrain International Circuit.
The electricity supply failed in the teams’ garages and elsewhere in the paddock. The circuit’s lighting system was also extinguished.
The race director red-flagged the session immediately afterwards. The FIA confirmed the action was taken in response to the blackout.
The failure struck shortly after 5pm local time. The session was scheduled to end at 7pm, with sunset due to fall at 5:37pm.
With the teams’ facilities plunged into darkness, mechanics began working by torchlight as the time until the end of the session continued to tick down.
George Russell was leaving the pits in his Mercedes when the track was suddenly plunged into darkness.
“I came out of the pits and thought it was suddenly quite dark out here,” he told Sky. “I came on the radio and said I needed to change my visor and I realised there was no floodlights on.
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“It would have been a bit hectic if this was an hour later when the sun has already set.”
The power was gradually restored to the circuit over the following hour. The FIA eventually confirmed the session would resume at 6:10pm local time, over an hour after it had been suspended, with 50 minutes of running left. It later announced the session would be extended by an hour to make up for the lost time.
The Bahrain circuit operators issued a statement explained the failure. “At approximately 5pm today, a power outage caused by an external substation failure led to the afternoon session on track to be paused,” it said. “Power has since been restored and the afternoon session has resumed. We appreciate everyone’s patience.”
This is the second year in a row a problem has halted testing at the Bahrain International Circuit. Last year over two hours of running was lost when a drain cover came loose at turn 11, which Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc hit.
Today’s test is the first of three days of running teams are permitted before the new season begins in Australia next month. All 20 drivers were involved in the opening day of the test.
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