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Majority disagree with Red Bull: seven F1 teams go for Bahrain
- Estéban den Toom
From Wednesday 26 February to Friday 28 February in 2025, winter testing will traditionally take place ahead of the new Formula 1 season. It has not yet been announced where these will take place in 2025, but according to Auto Motor und Sport (AMuS), a vote showed that seven F1 teams would prefer to test in Bahrain rather than at the Barcelona circuit.
The winter tests were made so that drivers and teams could put their new cars through their paces. The new season in 2025 starts in Melbourne, Australia, but it was not possible to test there. Plus, it had become logistically very difficult. Bahrain and Barcelona then seemed to be the two most obvious options. In a vote with the F1 teams, there was a clear winner.
Seven to three vote for Bahrain
Seven out of 10 constructors voted for test days in Bahrain, despite it being a bit more expensive than testing in Catalonia. Red Bull, Visa Cash App RB (VCARB) and Stake F1 were in favour of testing in Spain, but the remaining seven teams (Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren, Alpine, Haas, Williams and Aston Martin) thus preferred to collect the data in the Middle East.
When it will be announced where the test days will be driven is not yet known, but Bahrain at least seems to be in pole position. Next weekend, the Spanish Grand Prix is scheduled in Barcelona. Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is the setting for all sessions throughout the weekend. Friday 21 June is the first free practice session at 13:30. All sessions can, of course, be followed at GPblog.
This article was written in collaboration with Olly Darcy