Loose Drain Cover Stops F1 Testing for 2nd Day in a Row

Formula One F1 - Pre-Season Testing - Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain - February 23, 2024 Members of the Bahrain International Circuit emergency maintenance team prepare the race track REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

Asharq Al Awsat

09:29-23 February 2024 AD ـ 14 Sha’ban 1445 AH

Asharq Al Awsat

09:29-23 February 2024 AD ـ 14 Sha’ban 1445 AH

Loose Drain Cover Stops F1 Testing for 2nd Day in a Row

A loose drain cover at the side of the track caused a long delay to Formula 1 preseason testing for the second day in a row Friday.
The cover flew up when Red Bull's Sergio Perez drove over a curb, causing a red-flag stoppage to the morning session after just half an hour amid repairs and an inspection of the area.
“Another day, another drain,” Red Bull wrote on X, formerly Twitter, as the team checked Perez's car for possible damage to the floor.
It was in the same part of the track where another loose cover caused disruption the day before. Thursday’s incident left debris scattered across the track and caused similar delays after two cars ran over the loose cover.
Drains have been a persistent problem for F1 in recent years, though typically on street circuits, not permanent racing venues like Bahrain.
Carlos Sainz Jr.'s Ferrari was badly damaged by a water valve cover in practice for the Las Vegas Grand Prix in November and George Russell's Williams car was wrecked in 2019 when it hit a drain cover in practice in Azerbaijan.

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South Korea Expresses Regret after Its Athletes Introduced as North Korea at Opening Ceremony

Athletes of South Korea travel by boat along the Seine river during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP)

07:11-27 July 2024 AD ـ 21 Muharram 1446 AH

South Korea Expresses Regret after Its Athletes Introduced as North Korea at Opening Ceremony

Athletes of South Korea travel by boat along the Seine river during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP)

South Korea expressed regret that its delegation of athletes at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony on Friday was introduced as from rival North Korea and has demanded assurances from organizers the mistake will not happen again.

As the boat carrying South Korean athletes passed on the Seine, the announcer introduced them as the "Democratic People's Republic of Korea" - the official name of North Korea - in French and English.

The announcer used the same introduction when the North Korean delegation passed.

South Korea's vice minister for sports and culture, Jang Mi-ran, who was in Paris, had requested a meeting with International Olympics Committee President Thomas Bach, the ministry said in a statement.

"We express regret that the country was introduced as North Korea at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games when the athletes of the Republic of Korea were entering," it said.

South Korea's National Olympic Committee immediately referred the incident to the Games' organizers and requested that the error will not be repeated.

South Korea's delegation includes 143 athletes competing in 21 events. North Korea, which is returning to the Games for the first time since Rio 2016, has sent 16 athletes.

Loose Drain Cover Stops F1 Testing for 2nd Day in a Row

Loose Drain Cover Stops F1 Testing for 2nd Day in a Row

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South Korea Expresses Regret after Its Athletes Introduced as North Korea at Opening Ceremony

South Korea Expresses Regret after Its Athletes Introduced as North Korea at Opening Ceremony

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