F1 will have a single three-day pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit March 12-14, with teams having little time to update themselves before the new season.
Although the 2020 cars have been broadcast on a large scale for 2021, the teams are still struggling with a shorter window in which to complete their typical season preparations.
At the launch of the new Alfa Romeo C41 earlier this week, technical director Jan Monchaux outlined the challenge of reducing the number of test runs.
“It’s going to be hectic,” said Monchaux.
“Three days is pretty short compared to previous seasons. The car has many components, so theoretically the risk of a bad surprise is reduced.
“But I expect these three days on the track to be very hectic. All teams try to achieve the maximum mileage in order to ensure their reliability, but also to meet the performance expectations.”
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It is unclear how Alfa Romeo will split its preseason between racing drivers Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi and reserve driver Robert Kubica, all of whom drove the car over six days of testing in 2020.
The stability in the driver line-up ensures that the team does not have to spend time helping a newcomer to familiarize themselves with their systems and processes.
“I think that F1 is going in a different direction now compared to the past,” said Frederic Vasseur, Alfa Romeo Team Principal.
“The first discussion we had with fewer and fewer tests [was] that we have to be ready when you’re on the track and that means you’ve seen guys in the car.
“It makes more than sense. The line-up works well.”
Monchaux was also delighted with the move to testing from Barcelona to Bahrain to ensure that the temperatures and conditions on the track are more stable and more representative of what the teams can expect two weeks later at the opening race.
“The weather will certainly be a good thing because the temperature should be a little higher than in Barcelona,” said Monchaux.
“Therefore, the work on the new car and the new tires, because we are also trying out new tires this season, will certainly be more representative than at four or five degrees in Barcelona.”
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