Power cut causes first day of F1 pre-season testing to be halted
F1 pre-season testing was interrupted by a red flag for a bizarre reason.
The first day of F1 pre-season testing was red-flagged due to a power cut in Bahrain.
Shortly after two hours of running had been completed in the afternoon session, the first red flag came out.
It was initially unclear as to what had caused the red flag, with no drama on track.
It quickly emerged that several garages had lost power and were left in darkness. The circuit's floodlights have also gone out.
F1's governing body the FIA has confirmed the red flag is linked to a circuit-wide power outage.
Speaking to F1TV, Mercedes driver George Russell said he was left confused on track.
"I came out of the pits and was like it's suddenly quite dark out here, so I asked to change my visor," Russell explained.
"I realised there was no floodlights on. It would have been quite hectic if this had been an hour later."
After over an hour of delays, power was restored, allowing for running to continue for the last 50 minutes of the day.
A statement from the Bahrain International Circuit read: "At approximately 5pm today, a power outage caused by an external substation failure led to the afternoon session on track to be paused.
"Power has since been restored and the afternoon session has resumed. We appreciate everyone’s patience."
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