Horner suggests post-Bahrain GP test

London : Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has proposed Formula 1 tyre supplier Pirelli conducts its hotly-disputed test in Bahrain after next year’s grand prix.

The F1 teams are currently at loggerheads over the venues for pre-season testing ahead of the 2017 campaign, with a split between Barcelona and Bahrain.

Pirelli is adamant it needs the warmer climes of Bahrain to address potential problems that are unlikely to materialise in cooler conditions.

Horner, though, has offered a compromise as he said: “For the first four races, Melbourne can be pretty chilly, China’s certainly pretty cool, Bahrain’s a night race and Russia can also be on the cooler side.

“So maybe a more sensible solution would be to stay in Bahrain after the race [on April 26] and rather than do the test in Barcelona mid-season, do it in Bahrain when everybody’s kit and personnel is at that circuit.” Williams chief technical officer Pat Symonds, who claims his team is “bitterly opposed to going to the Middle East pre-season”, believes Horner’s suggestion is “quite sensible”.

Symonds told Autosport: “I don’t think Bahrain is the greatest circuit, but it’s not a problem to do it [post race].

“It costs nothing, and we’ve got prescribed tyres for the first few races.

“Australia is medium, soft, supersoft - if they [Pirelli] want to take hard, medium, soft I have no problem with that, it’s the same for everyone.

“What I do have a problem with is spending [an additional] £400,000 doing pre-season testing [in Bahrain], which is a significant part of our budget, but an insignificant part of Mercedes’ or Ferrari’s budget.”

Horner claims if Pirelli is adamant about going testing pre-season then it should pay a significant contribution towards doing so.