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First Red Flag of 2022 in F1, Perez Stopped on the Barcelona Track

2022 F1 pre-season testing has begun in Barcelona. The track has seen McLaren doing well, while Red Bull’s Sergio Perez stopping on the same circuit meant a red flag had to be waved – this year’s first.
Perez's F1 car on the Barcelona track 6 photos
Photo: F1 fan on Twitter
McLaren 2022 pre-season testingAlpha Tauri 2022 pre-season testingFirst 2022 F1 red flagPerez's F1 car towedPerez jumping out of his RB F1 racing car
The second day of intense activity in Spain’s Barcelona began with Ricciardo following in his teammate's footsteps by being the fastest. But the session ended with a sort of premiere. Sergio Perez disappeared and those watching got worried. Red Bull’s F1 racing driver didn’t crash, but just stopped safely on the Barcelona track, with approximately 30 minutes to go. He was immediately assisted at the exit of Turn 13. Perez didn’t rejoin.

“First red flag of the season, just as we go out trackside. Cool,” said Scuderia AlphaTauri in a Twitter post about the incident.

Honda previously said it might encounter some issues with the E10 fuel, but the cause of a sudden loss of power hasn’t been confirmed yet.

Formula 1 said in a press statement that both World Champion Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez would be able to get back on the track in Barcelona on Thursday afternoon, after Red Bull Racing has flown new parts in Spain.

Things are also getting interesting at McLaren. Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo seem to be fighting for the top dog position and things will surely get heated. Both drivers have set the best times on track after just two days of pre-season preparations.

Thursday also showed that Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was the second-fastest, while AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly finished third.

Now as an Alfa Romeo F1 racing driver, Valterri Bottas seems to have some bad luck. He completed only 16 laps on Thursday, while yesterday he finished on the seventh spot. He’s indicated reliability issues.

Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu will also make his debut on Thursday with Alfa Romeo.

Alpine is facing some technical issues as well. F1 said it suspects the team having suffered a DRS issue.

Pre-season testing resumes later today at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

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Editor's note: Gallery shows pictures of pre-season testing done at the Barcelona track.

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About the author: Florin Amariei
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Car shows on TV and his father's Fiat Tempra may have been Florin's early influences, but nowadays he favors different things, like the power of an F-150 Raptor. He'll never be able to ignore the shape of a Ferrari though, especially a yellow one.
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