Since the Grand Prix of Australia, the first stage of the 2021 championship, most likely will be postponed to later dates, in this situation the teams have to plan the pre-season tests as reasonably as possible.
Initially, they had to go to Barcelona from March 2 to March 4, but these plans would probably have to be reviewed, and the tests for the first time since 2014 can go to Bahrain. Such a scenario was discussed at the end of last season, but, as always, from purely practical considerations refused it, because tests in the Catalan ring are much cheaper.
Gary Anderson, a former Machine Designer of Formula 1, and now an expert online edition The Race argues that if the season begins from stage in Bahrain, then the tests would be logical on the road in Sakhir.
If such a decision is made, the teams will need to be more clearly planned and prepared for different kinds of surprises. Considering that the tests this year will be held in just three days, it will be necessary to deliver a sufficient number of spare parts in Bahrain, because if it is not foreseen, then any breakdown can pour into serious time loss.
Of course, transportation costs are sharply increasing compared to traditional tests in Barcelona, but the weather in Bahrain even in the winter is quite summer, while in the south of Europe in March it can still go snow.
It should also be noted that the fruitful work on the tests should be facilitated by the fact that the teams have enough information about the track in Sakhir and the behavior of cars on it, and this data is quite fresh, because two races in Bahrain have passed relatively recently, at the end of last season.
Since the Bahrain Grand Prix is scheduled for March 28, then if the tests really take place on the same highway, it makes sense to transfer them from the beginning of the month to later dates. It will give teams the opportunity to work longer over the cars of 2021. However, it is not a fact that such an idea will be supported by everyone, since some teams may prefer to spend tests on March 2-4, as was planned initially to early to identify the weak points of technology and have time to eliminate them before the first race.
Barcelona is considered an ideal track for presenting pre-season tests, since it is characterized by a good combination of turns of different configurations requiring different passage rates. Sahir is rather a medium-duty route, where the clamping force should be slightly lower.
But the teams may well compensate for this at the expense of thorough preparatory work on the simulators preceding tests, and during its basic settings, taking into account the characteristics of the Bahrain Autodoma. However, it is already on the spot to be corrected, to achieve optimal behavior of the car, in particular, at certain limits to change the road clearance, experimenting with the angle of attacks of the front and rear wings, with the rigidity of the anterior and rear suspension, etc.
In any case, to fully fulfill the test program in just three days - a very difficult task that requires tremendous effort.
Source: Formula 1 on F1news.ru