Ferrari are taking advantage of their decision not to sign a testing agreement, in order to maximise their chances in the first race of the year.


Team Ferrari is well aware of the gulf that currently exists between themselves and the pre-season favorites – Renault and Honda.
Their back-room boys have developed some classy new aerodynamic kit which, they feel will go some way towards bridging the gap, so they’ve decided to hole up in Bahrain to continue testing the package.


Testing Disparity - The Ferrari Advantage

Many of the teams have opted to leave their equipment in Bahrain ahead of the first race of the season on March 12th as a costcutting measure. However, Ferrari are the only team that can continue testing right up to the race. The others are handicapped because they, unlike Ferrari, signed off on a testing agreement which allows for 1 week of testing outside of Europe. This cost saving measure was agreed by nearly every team a few years ago.
However, the new Ferrari F248 will be able to take advantage of better weather conditions and more daylight which, they believe will give them an advantage once the season commences.

Other teams have decided that it would be too disruptive to send their stuff to the Middle East in February, before moving on to Malaysia (19th) and Australia (April 2nd).