Bahrain International Circuit to kick off six days of F1, F2 testing from today

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbhahrain.com

Bahrain International Circuit (BIC), “The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East”, hosts six days of testing starting today, featuring two of the biggest single-seater racing series in the world.

First, up at the Sakhir track will be three days of pre-season tests for the 2021 FIA Formula 2 Championship, Formula 1’s leading feeder series, from today to Wednesday.

Then, from Friday to Sunday, the world’s most popular teams and drivers will hit the tarmac in pre-season testing for the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

Each three-day session will have running from morning until the early evening.

The F2 tests will be between 9 am and 12noon and then again from 2 pm to 5 pm.

The F1 tests will be from 10 am to 2 pm, and then again from 3 pm to 7 pm.

Testing will be held without spectators, as the circuit prepares for fans for the main event at the end of this month.

The tests are part of both series’ final preparations for the start of their new seasons, both of which will be held in Bahrain. For all the competitors, it is their first chance to get an indication of how competitive their latest cars will be ahead of the first race of the season, making for a crucial period at BIC.

Bahrain has been given the honour to host the opening round of this year’s F1 World Championship, with the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix taking place from March 26 to 28.

Tickets are now available for this year’s Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix.

To ensure that the event can proceed in a safe environment, and in line with government health advice, tickets are only available to vaccinate or COVID-19 recovered individuals.

Tickets are on sale now at bahraingp.com with a single discounted price of BD100 for tickets across stands for the three-day event.

F1 is being supported that weekend by the first round of F2.

Important mileage

From today, all 11 F2 teams will be on track getting some important mileage in their cars, including defending champions Prema Racing, Uni-Virtuosi Racing, Carlin, Hitech Grand Prix, ART Grand Prix, MP Motorsport, Charouz Racing System, Dams, Campos Racing, HWA Racelab and Trident.

The F2 field is headed for major changes from 2021 onwards, with each round comprising three races instead of two.

The race meeting’s Friday sessions remain the same, with one 45-minute practice followed by a 30-minute qualifying.

Two Sprint Races are then scheduled to take place on the Saturday of the meeting, both consisting of 120 kilometres or 45 minutes.

The Feature Race will then be held on Sunday for over one hour or covering 170 kilometres.

For F1’s teams, the Bahrain tests will mark the first time all 2021 contenders, which were unveiled to the world one by one over the past few weeks, will be on the track together.

World champions Mercedes are joined by Red Bull Racing, McLaren, Aston Martin, Alpine, Ferrari, AlphaTauri, Alfa Romeo, Haas and Williams is gearing up for the record 23- race calendar that is set to flag off in the Kingdom.

Fans this year will experience the excitement of being present at the first race of the 2021 F1 season, with the thrilling racing this brings, together with entertainment and extensive food and beverage offerings within a COVID-19 safe area.

For full eligibility criteria for those wishing to attend the race, or for other information on the highly anticipated event, visit bahraingp.com.

F2 team/drivers line-ups for testing

Prema Racing: Robert Shwartzman (Russia), Oscar Piastri (Australia)

Uni-Virtuosi: Guanyu Zhou (China), Felipe Drugovich (Brazil)

Carlin: Jehan Daruvala (India), Dan Ticktum (Great Britain)

Hitech Grand Prix: Liam Lawson (New Zealand), Juri Vips (Estonia)

ART Grand Prix: Christian Lundgaard (Denmark), Theo Pourchaire (France)

MP Motorsport: Richard Verschoor (Netherlands), Lirim Zendeli (Germany)

Charouz Racing System: David Beckmann (Germany), Guilherme Samaia (Brazil)

Dams: Roy Nissany (Israel), Marcus Armstrong (New Zealand)

Campos Racing: Gianluca Petecof (Brazil), Ralph Boschung (Switzerland)

HWA Racelab: Matteo Nannini (Italy), Alessio Deledda (Italy)

Trident: Bent Viscaal (Netherlands), Marino Sato (Japan)