Bad luck for Vettel and Schumacher
Shock for Latifi, Williams catches fire
03/11/2022 8:54 p.m
For the German Formula 1 drivers, the second day of testing in Bahrain is anything but smooth. Both Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher are struggling with technical problems on their cars. Ferrari left a really strong impression again.
Sebastian Vettel was slowed down by technical problems on the second day of the final test drives for the new Formula 1 season. The 34-year-old had to park the Aston Martin shortly before the end of the first session of the day for reasons that are still unclear, and the car was brought back to the pits with a tow truck.
With his fastest lap (1:36.020 minutes), Vettel ended up in eighth place in the day’s classification, he drove a total of 46 laps on the 5.412-kilometer circuit in Bahrain. Not everything went according to plan for Mick Schumacher either, among other things, the exhaust on his Haas went on strike. After 23 laps and 1:37.846 minutes, he ended up in twelfth place among 15 drivers. “Unfortunately, we were only able to do a few laps,” he said, but basically sees his team as “on the right track”. The car makes a “very promising” impression.
Ferrari once again presented themselves strongly, the Spaniard Carlos Sainz junior set the best time of the day with 1:33.532 minutes. Behind him was world champion Max Verstappen in the Red Bull (+0.609 seconds). Lewis Hamilton in the innovatively designed Mercedes W13 took fourth place, the Englishman was a little more than a tenth slower than Verstappen.
Nicholas Latifi experienced a moment of shock. The Canadian had massive problems with his Williams car, the rear brakes gave off sparks, and suddenly the rear of the car was on fire. The 26-year-old jumped out of his cockpit and grabbed the fire extinguisher himself. He was unharmed.
Traditionally, however, the results for one lap should be treated with caution in test drives. Formula 1 will be testing in Bahrain until Saturday, before the new season begins on March 20th, also on the desert circuit.