F1 pre-season testing to be shortened to three-days in 2021 and planning to shift from traditional Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya to Bahrain.
Formula 1 is set to cut done its pre-season testing to a single three-day event for 2021. Earlier the event which has been following an eight-day schedule over the past few years, now see a massive cutdown due to multiple factors.
Moreover, it has also been rumoured that the location of testing is being considered to shift from Circuit de Barcelona- Catalunya to Bahrain, though it is yet to be confirmed.
As of now, FIA has not revealed a particular set of dates for the pre-season testing, but it is rumoured to be set around March, with a prospect of long winter break.
Next season is going to witness a lengthy calendar, with 23 races already confirmed by Formula 1 in its prospective schedule released recently with multiple double and triple headers.
Why the pre-season testing got cropped
The biggest reason behind is the late end of the 2020 season, and little break received to the F1 staff and teams because of it. Thus, the teams are concerned about their drivers and staff facing a burnout due to excessive workload and travelling.
Moreover, with little scope of making amends to the next season cars, F1 has decided to agree on the three-day testing schedule. A long winter break and a three-day test is a compensation for the late end to 2020 season.
Also, logistically, it is logical to set the testing in Bahrain, which would be much nearer to Australia, which is yet again set to organize the first race of the next season.
Bahrain last held F1 pre-season testing in 2014 prior to the start of the first season using the new V6 hybrid power units. The Sakhir venue has hosted Grand Prix since its debut on the F1 calendar in 2004, while it has also staged two in-season tests following its race in 2017 and again in 2019.
