F1 testing hit by red flag after Red Bull POWER FAILURE

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F1 testing hit by red flag after Red Bull POWER FAILURE

Testing was disrupted after an unusual issue

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Wednesday 26 February 2025 15:27 Updated: 18:14

Pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit was red flagged, just moments after Sky Sports F1 reported a power cut at Red Bull.

Formula 1 is in Bahrain this week for pre-season testing, with all 10 teams getting in some crucial running as preparations for the 2025 season get underway.

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Lewis Hamilton managed to complete 70 laps in the morning session in Bahrain, and his first officially timed session with his new team yielded a fifth-place finish.

However, the afternoon session was hampered by a circuit-wide power cut, first reported down at the Red Bull garage by the Sky F1 team, before the session was stopped with the Bahrain track in darkness.

It was later revealed that the power cut hit the whole track, with all 10 teams' garage lights and the track's floodlights switching off.

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Bahrain power cut delays testing

The 60-minute delay was not ideal for the teams, who were desperately trying to get plenty of laps in with their 2025 challengers.

The Bahrain International Circuit had quite an eerie feel to it during the delay, with the daylight just beginning to fade, but no lights around the track to replace the lack of light.

George Russell provided some added insight into the testing delay, telling Sky Sports F1: "I came out the pits and thought it was suddenly quite dark out here. I radio’d saying I need to change my visor and I realised there were no floodlights on!

"Would have been a bit hectic if this was an hour later when the sun had already set."

The session resumed in Bahrain with 50-minutes of running remaining, and the circuit released an official statement on the issue.

"At approximately 5pm today, a power outage caused by an external substation failure led to the afternoon session on track to be paused," the statement read.

"Power has since been restored and the afternoon session has resumed. We appreciate everyone’s patience."