Verstappen & Perez Facing Change Of Plans After Red-Flagged Testing Session

Thursday, 22 February 2024 at 14:00

Not everything will go according to plan for Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez during the pre-season F1 testing.

During the first day of testing in Bahrain, everything went well for Red Bull, as the Dutch driver dominated both the morning and the evening session, completely shattering last year's fastest time from Day 1.

Red Bull was only one of two teams, along with Mercedes, who have decided to give both of their drivers one full day alone on the track, while all other teams alternate their drivers every day, with one taking the morning session and the other evening.

While on Day 1, Verstappen drove the whole day, the two Red Bull drivers were supposed to alternate on Day 2, and Perez was set to drive alone on Day 3 of the testing at the Bahrain International Circuit.

However, Day 2 didn't go according to plan, not just for the Austrian team but for everyone on the grid. After Charles Leclerc drove over a loose drain cover, a red flag was triggered when 1 hour, 48 minutes, and 30 seconds were remaining in the day session.

Read also

Speculations About Horner's Investigation Are 'Issue For All Of F1' Says Wolff

With 1 hour, 11 minutes, and 30 seconds on the clock, the race control announced that the session would not be resumed, and instead, a 5-hour and 10-minute evening session was installed.

This created a dilemma for many teams, as no one wants to allocate more time to one driver than the other, and with Verstappen having already one full day behind him, and with Day 3 still being vulnerable to similar situations, Red Bull made a sensible decision.

Instead of sending the Dutchman for the afternoon session, Perez jumped into the RB20, and the drivers will alternate on Day 3 instead of Day 2.

Currently, various reports indicate that the Mexican drive will drive tomorrow's morning session, while Verstappen should drive in the afternoon, but that is still subject to change.