OMNISPORT

Ferrari have reviewed their pit-stop procedures with the FIA following the incident that left a mechanic with a broken leg at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Francesco Cigarini suffered a double leg fracture after Kimi Raikkonen was given the green light to leave the pits before his left rear tire had been replaced during last Sunday's race. The early release during the Finn's second stop has been investigated by the team, with team principal Maurizio Arrivabene explaining how a "mishandling of the rear-left" led to the electronic system clearing the driver for departure ahead of schedule.

The incident clouded an otherwise positive weekend for Ferrari, as Sebastian Vettel claimed his second successive victory at the start of the 2018 season.

"Just to make it clear, once and forever. First of all, we are a team who is hurt. We had a person who is injured," Arrivabene said.

"So, it was in our interest to review the overall procedure. We've done our review together with the FIA, because they care about safety as we care about safety. We went through all of the procedure. We have a procedure to ensure that the pit stops during the race are done in the most safe mode.

"In this case we have three factors. One involves human control, the other involves mechanical and the other involves electronic device. What happened is that we had a mishandling of the rear-left that was not perfectly read by the electronic device, which gives the green light.

"Again, we went through the procedure with the FIA to make sure that this kind of thing doesn't happen again. And it's in our interest because we care about our people before anything else."

Arrivabene was also able to give a positive update on Cigarini, who has returned home to Italy following surgery, adding: "As team principal I was talking with him every day and I repeat, he is at home and it is all okay."

Raikkonen was second quickest in Friday's practice ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix, finishing just behind Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes.

Hamilton's teammate, Valtteri Bottas, was third fastest and, with Vettel not far behind in fourth in FP2, the stage is set for an intriguing race between the leading teams in Shanghai.

While Ferrari had no issues in the pits on Friday, Stoffel Vandoorne had to stop in his McLaren after reporting a tyre was "not on" following a stop.