In 7 minutes. Bring it!!!!!
February 18 2014 11:24 PM @DPistis - Only three laps on the board for the Renault teams combined, none of which have come from either Red Bull or Toro Rosso. Certainly there's been no statement of intent from either so far that their problems of Jerez are firmly behind them - but it's still very early days here with no one yet up to ten laps. Share James Galloway
February 18 2014 11:25 PM Adrian Newey said that RB10 was quite aggressive in rear design and that caused the engine problems.To rectify it, are they going to lose any aero advantage at the rear by making it more passive? Share Arvind
February 18 2014 11:40 PM Fernando Alonso now joins Grosjean out on the expansive Sakhir track, the Lotus now down to a 1:44.832 on his second timed lap. Share James Galloway
February 18 2014 11:42 PM That maiden Lotus stint lasted four laps then before Grosjean returned to the sanctuary of the pits. Remember, while it's the E22's official test debut, the car did complete 100km - about 23 laps - at Jerez last week for a filming day. Share James Galloway
February 18 2014 11:42 PM All things considered, including Renault's problems with the hardware of their engine units, it seems as if Lotus didn't lose out very much at all in opting to skip the Jerez test. And judging by their bolt out of the blocks this morning once the session did finally go live, it also seems as if the team played a very crafty hand in scheduling one of their allotted filming days for last week in order to give the E22 an early shakedown Share Pete Gill
February 18 2014 11:45 PM Fernando Alonso has now put Ferrari's first laptime on the board, 1:41,667, but that may not be entirely accurate as the official timing screens have just flashed up with the message 'Ferrari - Transponder not working'. Share James Galloway
February 19 2014 12:03 AM We've just reached 20 degrees here at Sakhir with track temperatures nearly double that mark now. Felipe Massa just ventured back out for an out and in lap, with Nico Hulkenberg taking over alongside Adrian Sutil, who is now up to 14 laps in the Sauber. Share James Galloway
February 19 2014 12:15 AM Our first update of the test from Red Bull offers some hope that the RB10 may take to the track sooner rather than later: "Good morning from a sunny Bahrain. Working hard in the garage at the moment but we'll be out on track soon." Share James Galloway
February 19 2014 12:22 AM As if there wasnt enough scrutiny of the RB10 in the offing already, this mornings delay has only added to the intrigue around the Red Bull. Just what will Adrian Newey have produced in the last two weeks after leaving Jerez early to get back to his Milton Keynes drawing board? After all the talk in recent weeks about the nosey look of 2014, all eyes will be focused on the rear of the RB10 when it finally leaves the Red Bull garage later this morning Share Pete Gill
February 19 2014 12:26 AM Mercedes have sent Lewis Hamilton back on his way for the Briton's second proper run of the morning. The Brackley outfit certainly appear to have picked up from where they left off at Jerez. Incidentally, their high mileage at the opening test has led Sky Bet to install them as their new favourites for the Constructors' Championship. Share James Galloway
February 19 2014 12:28 AM We have our first time below 1:40 for the test as Hamilton's opening timed lap of this run results in a 1:39.573, opening his timesheet advantage over Alonso to 1.5s. Share James Galloway
Session underway after 30-minute delay. Romain Grosjean heads straight out to give Lotus E22 its debut; No sign of Red Bull during opening two hours; Bahrain Test Day One @ 8.27am UK time 1. Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:39.573, 13 laps; 2. Alonso, Ferrari, 1:41.115, 13 laps; 3. Sutil, Sauber, 1:42.849, 16 laps; 4. Grosjean, Lotus, 1:44.832, 7 laps; 5. Frijns, Caterham, 1:45.238, 7 laps; 6. Hulkenberg, Force India, No time, 7 laps; 6. Magnussen, McLaren, No time, 3 laps; 8. Massa, Williams, No time, 3 laps. 9. Bianchi, Marussia, No time, 2 laps; No laps completed by either Red Bull team yet. Share Pete Gill
One of the questions that has to be asked of Red Bull is whether they ought to have started work on their 2014 car earlier than they did given that Sebastian Vettel effectively had the 2013 championship wrapped up from October last year. It certainly seems as if the team itself believe they may have erred. Limited running was always going to be the case, said Newey after the Jerez test. Weve had a compressed schedule because we were in the championship fight last year and with hindsight perhaps we could have afforded to switch off in the second half of the year and stopped developing car a bit sooner. But we werent to know we kept pushing and have had less time to work on this years car. When reading those remarks, its also worth bearing in mind that Christian Horner has described the RB10 as the most complicated car in the history of Formula 1. Given that they have won both championships in each of the last four seasons, any criticism of Red Bull has a hollow ring, but, right now, with over a third of pre-season testing elapsed and their new car yet to run a single lap in anger, it certainly feels as if they may have made a strategic error over the last six months or so.
