F1 test halted as power failure causes blackout at Bahrain circuit · RaceFans

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.”

A quarter of an hour after the problem struck, no update had been given on when the session would resume.

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.

This article will be updated.