Formula One News

Formula One News » Testing to increase in 2011 Posted on 31/08/2010

Amid complaints that the current in-season testing ban is harming the chances of both newcomers and veterans alike, it appears that more will be done to help teams ahead of the 2011 campaign.

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh has all but confirmed rumours doing the rounds in Belgium which suggested that several outfits were planning to stage their final running in Bahrain ahead of the potential season-opener, but added that the test could be the sixth of the winter.

“We’ve agreed there will be six tests during the winter and, probably, the last one will be in Bahrain, although it hasn’t been quite agreed yet,” Whitmarsh, in his role as chairman of teams’ association FOTA, told Reuters, “We want to make sure that it’s cost effective for the small teams.

“I would personally like to see more testing, but I am respectful of the fact that there are teams still hurting [financially]. But we’ve now got at least six tests in the winter so that’s a step further forward.”

Whitmarsh admitted that he would also like to see a return to testing during the season, but conceded that there was no agreement to do so as yet. Such testing was banned last season in an effort to cut the cost of competing for the smaller teams.

Two of the six agreed pre-season tests will devoted to running young talent and testing on the new Pirelli tyres, which will replace the standard Bridgestones being used this year. Both tests are expected to take place in Abu Dhabi immediately after this season’s finale in mid-November.