Three-day test to take place next week

2013 F1 season

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Six teams will participate in a special three-day test in Bahrain next week between the 17th and 19th of December.

The FIA said in a statement the test had been arranged “on safety grounds”.

“All Formula One teams have been invited to take part in the test and six have accepted,” it noted, listing the teams who will participate as Red Bull, Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren, Force India and Toro Rosso.

Formula One’s official tyre supplier Pirelli has been lobbying for more pre-season testing to ensure its tyres are suitable for the new generation of cars and engines being introduced next year.

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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34 comments on “Three-day test to take place next week”

  1. Wonder if anyone’s got any new bits to bring?
    Too soon, I guess – there was something the other week about Caterham passing the crash test already, and that Ferrari engine test.

    It would be great to see Magnussen and Raikkonen in action though.

    1. @bullfrog – I imagine that would be banned. First, the teams can only test their new cars at the designated pre-season tests. And secondly, this is a fact-finding mission for Pirelli. They need to know how the 2014 tyres will hold up, and to do that, they need the 2013 cars to be as they were in 2013. Introducing 2014-spec cars could potentially skew the data and give that team an unfair advantage.

  2. Nick Jarvis (@)
    9th December 2013, 19:21

    2013 cars on 2014 tyres, right?

  3. The only good thing decided today.

  4. Why don’t Marussia, Caterham, Williams and Sauber take part too?

    1. Probably Cost Issues.

      1. That’s wgy Lotus doesn’t participate too …

    2. Financial reasons, probably. The same goes for Lotus.

    3. Most likely what @estesark and @master-firelee mention @fer-no65. I think we saw quotes from Marussia and Sauber along those lines sometime last week.

      Although for a team like Williams (and Marussia with Cosworth) it might also be a point of their contract with Renault ending, so that might make it more expensive to do such a test still.

      1. @bascb Interesting theory concerning the engines but wouldn’t that also apply onto Toro Rosso?

        1. Red Bull, the parent company, probably helps STR with things like this.

        2. As Icemanfan states, STR is not a team that has to think carefully about its funding. RB-technology learns from it so its good. And it might be that Ferrari are keen enough to get some info from running their engines too.

    4. That also confirm Hulkenberg could have made the best choice by going to ForceIndia rather than Lotus or staying at Sauber … Even if the test is not that relevant, it shows what each team can afford.
      For the rest, let’s say what teams tell about it and the advantage they can obtain from it.

  5. Maybe someone will go with their 2014 car already, nothing to lose but all to gain.

    1. I doubt that, they don’t want the other teams to see their 2014 car already.

      1. I think it’s a little pointless if the teams don’t test with the 2014 cars. Yes, maybe the competition may want to sneak about your car, but all of them are going pretty blindfolded with the regulations and they need the most possible data. If I were a team boss, I would do it.
        Or maybe I just want to see the new cars. :P

        1. I want to see the new cars too! So, I’m giving your hypothesis a BIG +1 :-)

        2. The best way to understand the 2014 tyres is to compare them to the 2013 ones. The best way to do that is in a 2013 car.

          1. That’s a very good point @john-h, use the 2013 car as the control. It would make sense to me that the teams would use the same setup as they used during the Grand Prix earlier in the year.

          2. But the handling and forces in 2014 cars would be very different to what 2013 cars produce including the torque. So how can you compare tyre performance by testing with 2013 cars? Will those comparisons be any meaningful??

          3. Agreed. And let’s not forget that the idea is to allow Pirelli to test the tires. The team will have very limited information about what they are testing and won’t even be allowed to play with setups.

  6. Any rumours about who’s going to drive? I imagine that Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes will use their test drivers, but what about the other two? TR will probably use JEV, while Force India?? Hulkenberg?

    1. Maybe Calado for FI?

  7. Schedule? Any coverage, TV or twitter?

  8. It’d be a good opportunity for McLaren to give Magnussen a bit of extra tracktime…

  9. I’d imagine the teams will use 2013 season drivers?

  10. Any chance, teams will be testing some parts for 2014 car?

  11. Not sure why teams like Sauber and Lotus not taking part, other than money factor

  12. I’m glad to see that it’s not just the big teams testing now.

  13. Lewisham Milton
    10th December 2013, 7:54

    Black helmets all round for the Mercedes drivers? (or Daft Punk ones)

  14. McLaren and Force India have also canceled

  15. Some real fantasy posts here.. No 2014 cars. There are no engines for them anyway, yet. Probably not even 1st team drivers but 2nd reserves. Tyre testing only useful for Pirelli, very little of use for the F1 team itself and is a distraction from the upcoming official 2014 1st testing day. Why would you bother?

    1. Is a great chance to gain needed experience for Rookies, is unbeleivable Magnussen will not be there getting to grips and actually missing doing at least one Friday test on last races… oh yes I forgot he is awesome lighting mega quick on the simulator so that should be plenty for what is expected of him, looks Mclaren is going full to 2015 already.

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