Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc gave his thoughts regarding drain cover issues in Bahrain pre-season testing stating that the problem “can have big consequences.”
A loose drain cover on the outside kerb entering Turn 11 of the Bahrain International Circuit caused issues in two sessions during the three-day test.
On the morning of the second day, Leclerc’s Ferrari was seen running over the loose drain and he needed a new floor due to damages sustained and the session was cut short.
The incident was reminiscent of first practice in Las Vegas last year, where Leclerc’s Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz saw his SF-23 written off thanks to a drain cover with the team still looking for compensation for damages.
“It’s a serious issue because it can have big consequences,” Leclerc told media including Motorsport Week in Friday’s press conference.
“We have to look into it for the future, for it to not happen again.
“Yesterday we were quite lucky that it didn’t happen in a place and in a situation similar to Vegas, but in Vegas it was quite serious for Carlos.
“But I’m sure everybody is on it, and working on finding the best solution for that.”
Lewis Hamilton also ran over the loose cover during the Thursday morning session of testing and reiterated Leclerc’s concerns.
“Hopefully the FIA are on top of it, welding these things well in advance before us getting there,” Hamilton said.
“Fortunately, it wasn’t like the bad the one that Carlos [Sainz] hit, but we’ve definitely got to be on top of it.”
Max Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez encountered similar issues on the final morning of the three-day test as his RB20 shook the drain cover loose once again on the entry to Turn 11.
The red flag came out and the resulting delay saw the scheduled lunch break slashed and the two Friday sessions merged.
Verstappen noted that the nature of ground effect F1 cars have a greater affect on drain covers compared to other racing machines along with using areas of the track other vehicles may not, but said its an issue that needs addressing.
“For sure, with the ground effect cars, probably it’s a little bit worse,” said Verstappen.
“But also it seems like we are driving in places that not a lot of other cars are going, in terms of opening up corners and stuff.
“But maybe these kinds of things can be checked a bit more.
“We know that this is a potential problem with these cars, and when you go to certain tracks, you know where the drain covers are.
“So before you start driving in the weekend to double check that everything is solid is a must for the upcoming tracks, that we don’t have another situation where cars get destroyed.
“And especially with the budget cap in place as well, it’s not nice when these things happen.”
So of course FIA have done a suitable and sufficient risk assessment of the safety, prevention and mitigation of all track fitted furniture. Just as they do after a series of high hazard incidents in the past.
Like the instant action on loose wheels. Or bulkhead intrusion as well as impacts.
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