LEWIS HAMILTON’S first day at Ferrari went up in smoke after a power cut hit the Bahrain International Circuit.
The electrical connection failed in the teams’ garages and elsewhere in the paddock.
GettyF1 Testing abruptly halted as garages plunged into darkness[/caption]
AFPThe Aston Martin area plunged into darkness[/caption]
ReutersThe torches were out in the Ferrari camp[/caption]
ReutersThe Bahrain circuit’s lighting system was also extinguished[/caption]
RexLewis Hamilton was keen on making a good impression for his first day at the office[/caption]
The cause of the fault is unknown as the circuit’s lighting system was also extinguished.
The race director red-flagged the session immediately afterwards and the FIA confirmed the action was taken in response to the blackout.
The failure struck shortly after 5pm local time and has continued for more than an hour.
The session was scheduled to end at 7pm, with sunset due to fall at 5:40pm.
With the teams’ facilities plunged into darkness, mechanics began working by torchlight.
The torches were out in the Ferrari camp, with the Aston Martin area cast into the void.
Every minute that passed was bad news for the teams because they want to do as many laps as possible.
Hamilton was keen to make a good impression on his first day in the office.
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But his debut Ferrari testing has been hit with a bizarre roadblock.
The seven-time world champ was fifth quickest in this morning‘s session – with a time of 1:31.834 in 70 laps – as he made his full Ferrari test debut at an F1 event.
Meanwhile, Hamilton’s team-mate Charles Leclerc set the fastest time of the day in his Ferrari, with 1.30.878 in 32 laps.
George Russell was leaving the pits in his Mercedes when the track was suddenly went dark.
Russell told Sky: “I came out of the pits and thought it was suddenly quite dark out here.
“I came on the radio and said I needed to change my visor and I realised there was no floodlights around.
“It would have been a bit hectic if this was an hour later when the sun has already set.”
Earlier this morning, Hamilton was in bright and early as the second driver to arrive in the paddock, and to many’s surprise he was suited and booted in full Ferrari kit.
Hamilton meant business and was so eager to get in the car that he nearly fell off the back of a golf buggy as he was dropped off at the Ferrari garage with Leclerc.
The Brit’s iconic No44 has also made the switch and was seen on the side of the red Ferrari car instead of Mercedes‘ black and green, where Hamilton spent the last 12 years.
The number, which pays tribute to Hamilton’s karting days and his dad, has featured since he was eight as it was his dad’s car registration number.
Day one of testing in Bahrain was Hamilton’s first chance to get a true feel of the SF-25 car, after the Brit and Leclerc took part in a shakedown last week at Ferrari’s home track at Fiorano.
It would have been tough for him to get up to speed given the short and tight nature of the Italian circuit.
Hamilton will just have 12 hours of running available to him ahead of the first race in Melbourne on March 16.
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