For the last two seasons’ in Formula 1, there has been a young drivers’ test which has taken place towards the end of the season at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi. The test was originally set to take place at the end of he season, however last year teams’ were reluctant to stay on after the season finale at Sao Paulo.
This season, it has been rumored that the event could take place at Silverstone the week after the British Grand Prix. With the addition of the United States Grand Prix at Austin scheduled to take place two weeks after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix this year, this would mean team personnel would be working flat out for five consecutive weeks.
However, with plans to hold the young drivers’ test mid-season at Silverstone, not all teams are 100% behind such a plan. After all, the young drivers’ which would take place in the test are usually engrossed in their own Championships’ such as GP2, GP3, Formula 2 and World Series by Renault. The fact that all of these Championships’ would be ongoing could cause difficulties for teams’ as they try and plan who to have in their cars.
"Everybody wants to have the young driver test.” Explained Force India’s Deputy Team Principal, Robert Fernley, in an interview with Autosport, “But if we do it in Abu Dhabi we are putting the pressure on the crew because it will be five weeks away with no stop. If we do it at Silverstone, then the argument could be: have we seen who we want to test from the other series? We need a bit more discussion with the team managers to see what we do now."
The week after the British Grand Prix at Silverstone sees the British Formula 2 event at Brands Hatch, including the World Series by Renault event at Moscow in Russia. This alone would make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for drivers’ from these two series’ to make an appearance at the test.
With strict rules regarding in-season testing in Formula 1, it seems as though finding the correct venue and date for this week of testing is going to be a difficulty to achieve.
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