F1 | Haas, Pietro Fittipaldi returns to the track after eight months: "Fantastic and exciting"

Haas returns to the Sakhir track, for the occasion with a new layout, without the hero of the week, Romain Grosjean. The Frenchman, who escaped the terrible accident that occurred during last Sunday's race, returned to the paddock to reassure the fans, greet the team and all the people who helped him. His story, face to face with death, has certainly shocked everyone, Romain is now a hero in all respects, but this encounter with death has not stopped him: Grosjean, despite the burns on his hands, hopes to get back on track , but in the meantime the replica of his car is in the hands of Pietro Fittipaldi. The Brazilian, nephew of Emerson Fittipaldi, was already the third driver of the American team, with whom he had already carried out tests. Fittipaldi, who hadn't tasted the track for eight months, set the nineteenth and eighteenth time in the two free practice sessions on Friday. These are obviously days of preparation for the twenty-four year old, who does not lose heart and remains focused.

"It was fantastic and exciting – said Fittipaldi at the end of the day – It's been a year since I last drove a Formula 1 car, eight months since I last took to the track. I took one step at a time, concentrated, trying to stay calm. I am very happy with this first day. The team helped me a lot, the engineers talked to me a lot on the radio, and the mechanics also did a great job. The only setback was in FP1, there was a lockup that damaged my tires, I couldn't continue with that set. But I didn't get discouraged, and we completed our program in FP2. Tomorrow we will take an extra step, we will raise the level little by little, and then push in qualifying and in the race".

Not a particularly easy day for Kevin Magnussen either: the difficulties of the VF-20, on the new layout of the Sakhir circuit, are clearly evident. The Dane, who set the seventeenth and fourteenth fastest times, will certainly enjoy the last kilometers that separate him from his future in IMSA.

"Well, it's definitely a very short runway, but with a lot of traffic; it is also very narrow, irregular. It will be a challenge – commented Magnussen – unfortunately, we are not fast enough, neither on the old track nor on the new one. We also have a lot of work to do on the balance of the car, we are not only slow on the straights, we also have problems in the corners. We have to try to manage all these problems. I think Pietro Fittipaldi did a good job today. Being thrown into a Formula 1 car just a few days before a race, without the possibility of testing, is no small feat. I think he has adapted to the speed, he is certainly enjoying it".