Bahrain Testing Day 2: Sidepods, Max Verstappen vs Lewis Hamilton and Haas receive extra time

Day 2 testing at Bahrain’s Grand Prix circuit kicked off on Friday with Thursday’s developments still to be addressed and resolved. Controversy, delays and the two great rivals were the subject of speculation yesterday and there is plenty still to be decided over the weekend. March 20 sees the season kick off, again in Bahrain.

There are three key points to watch on Friday. Ad/> Will Mercedes be allowed to keep their sidepods? Formula 1Red Bull head Horner caught telling Hamilton to 'shut the f***' up'AN HOUR AGO The German team turned up in the Middle East with a radical new design, with sidepods that were almost non-existant, and with an air vent that appeared to be much smaller than any other team’s design. Initially it was reported that Red Bull team principal Christian Horner had described the design as ‘illegal’ but he quickly clarified that he had said no such thing.

Whether that is correct or not, Max Verstappen followed up in a press conference to profess that he was largely indifferent to the development. Formula 1’s managing director Ross Brawn acknowledged that he was «surprised» at the new-look attempt from Mercedes, but he too would not be drawn on whether the design met the rules, either the spirit or the letter of them. AlphaTauri's Gasly fastest on Day 1 testing, Verstappen and Hamilton off the pace Bahrain Day 1: Haas still struggling, bouncing cars, and tributes to Ukraine Controversy and confusion in Bahrain as Mercedes introduce new sidepod design Friday could conceivably see a ruling given by the governing body.