F1 Testing 2024

Leclerc damage revealed after drain cover disaster

GPFans Staff Thursday 22 February 2024 13:57

Ferrari were forced to change the floor of Charles Leclerc's car after it suffered severe damage during Thursday’s morning testing session.

After getting a single session under his belt on Wednesday, setting the seventh-fastest time overall and completing 64 laps, Leclerc returned to the cockpit for Thursday's morning session.

Leclerc set the pace during the morning session, banking a 1:31.750, over half a second quicker than McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Williams' Logan Sargeant.

But the morning session - and everyone else's - ended early after a drain cover came loose at Turn 11, with Leclerc and his future Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton running over it before the red flag came out.

Charles Leclerc on a lap at the Bahrain International Circuit

The Monegasque will take part in the afternoon session

Leclerc's teammate Carlos Sainz will share the driving duties.

Floor change during the extended break

The red flag that ended the morning session has caused the second day’s schedule to be reshuffled, with the afternoon session now taking place at 14:00 Bahrain time rather than 15:00.

The teams will now get an extra hour of running, with the session beginning in the daytime and ending at night.

During the extended lunch break, Ferrari’s mechanics got to work and replaced Leclerc’s floor, getting the Monegasque out in time for the afternoon session.

"Following Charles' accident this morning when he drove over a drain cover, the floor was damaged, and we have now changed it," confirmed a Ferrari spokesperson.

This isn’t the first time Ferrari have had a car damaged by a part of the circuit. Leclerc’s current Ferrari teammate, Carlos Sainz, had his car destroyed during FP1 for the Las Vegas Grand Prix after also running over a manhole cover.

Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Charles Leclerc Oscar Piastri Logan Sargeant Bahrain International Circuit

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Leclerc damage revealed after drain cover disaster

Leclerc damage revealed after drain cover disaster