Day already over for Williams after a impressive fire
Williams unfortunately had to end their second day of winter testing here in Bahrain due to a brake overheating issue which led to a violent fire on the FW44. They are expected to return to the track tomorrow.
While Nicholas Latifi was behind the wheel for only 12 laps this morning, the rear brakes of the Williams FW44 started to overheat, causing a fire to break out despite the car being in motion.
Latifi did not receive the order to stop and the left rear suspension of the Williams gave way under the heat of the flames, causing a spin for the Canadian driver.
Once stopped, the fire spread more rapidly on the extremely hot rear of the F1, ultimately causing a gas reserve to explode, used to recharge the engine with air. With few track marshals nearby, Latifi had to grab a fire extinguisher himself to help put out the flames.
The red flag, which lasted several tens of minutes this morning and is now back in its box, only allowed the mechanics to discover the damage to the race car. Williams has therefore stated that the rest of their day will be dedicated to repairing the damages caused by the fire, the exact origin of which is still unknown.
The repairs are underway on the FW44. We will not take part in the rest of the day, but we are looking forward to getting back on track tomorrow for the final day of testing.
The fire on video:
