Again, a manhole cover threw a spanner in the works. On the third and final day of testing in Bahrain, it was - like a day earlier - a drain in a kerb that caused a lengthy red flag. It forced the FIA and Formula 1 to completely rearrange the session schedule this Friday: no longer two four-hour blocks, but one long session after the forced break until 17:00 CET.

Incidentally, it was Sergio Perez who drove over the drain, causing the cover to come off. Adrian Newey, Red Bull's master designer, said of the constant pit drama: "The cars are too big and too heavy. That's why this keeps happening." Fortunately for Red Bull and unlike Ferrari a day earlier, Perez's car was not damaged in the process.

Perez eventually made it to second place before the session was over for the Mexican. The Red Bull driver completed 38 laps, finishing more than two tenths behind fastest man Carlos Sainz. Lewis Hamilton put himself in the top three, but did complain about the balance in his W15. In the end, he finished seven tenths behind Sainz. It should be noted that Hamilton did so on the hard tyre.

McLaren has tough morning in Bahrain

Lando Norris had driven good, tight test sessions on Wednesday and Thursday, but on the closing day things did not go according to plan. The McLaren driver drove just 20 laps before changing. Meanwhile, his mechanics were investigating a clutch problem. Oscar Piastri later took over the wheel.

There were also concerns at Stake F1. Screens were put up in front of the pit box after three hours, as no one was allowed to see how the back of Valtteri Bottas ' car had to be removed. It is still unclear what was going on with the Swiss.

With just under 3.5 hours on the clock, the teams decided to slowly convert the cars for their second driver. Normally this is done during the break, but because of the pit stop, there is no break this Friday. Max Verstappen will be in action in the second part on behalf of Red Bull Racing.

Standings after more than 2.5 hours in Bahrain