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Formula One is back! Cars return to the track after 89 days away for first testing session ahead of the 2021 season… but it’s a far-from-ideal start for champions Mercedes as Valtteri Bottas suffers instant gearbox issue
- Formula One got back under way with a first round of testing on track in Bahrain
- It was the first opportunity for teams to see their own performance in new cars
- The morning was far from ideal for Mercedes as they suffered a gearbox issue
- Mick Schumacher got his first run in Haas’ 2021 car as the season edges closer
Formula One fans finally saw a glimpse of what is to come in 2021 as teams got to take their new cars out on track for testing for the first time on Friday.
Bahrain, which will host the season-opening race at the end of the month, is hosting a condensed testing schedule where all the teams and manufacturers got a chance to iron out issues.
Championship-winning Mercedes ran Valtteri Bottas in the morning session and he suffered an instant gearbox issue, making it a far from smooth start for the pre-season favourites.
Mercedes remained upbeat despite their early gearbox woes.
‘Better to discover and fix them now, than have them at the first race weekend,’ the team’s official account tweeted.
There was better news for McLaren with Daniel Ricciardo leading the way in an intense morning session on track.
Conditions were very windy and a sand storm caused debris to take over the track, leading some drivers to find life difficult managing tyres.
Despite the conditions there was just one red flag in the morning session.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc suffered a mechanical failure with 10 minutes to go in the session, forcing him to park up his new Ferrari SF21 after an irreparable issue at Turn 4.
More to follow.
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