What about the 2021 winter tests?
The 2021 winter tests were supposed to take place in Barcelona, Spain as every year, but have been reduced to just 3 days this season. With the current situation, they might be moved to Bahrain, just before the first Grand Prix of the 2021 season. No official information has been released yet.
Winter testing takes place before the first race of the season to prepare teams and ensure the reliability of the new cars.
This year, Barcelona planned to host the tests as usual, but unlike usual, it was not 2 weeks of 3 days that were planned, but only one week of 3 days from March 2 to 4, 2021.
Towards a cancellation of the Barcelona trials?
With the ongoing health crisis this year, the Barcelona tests might be canceled. They have not yet been confirmed by the FIA, and the Barcelona circuit has not announced anything either.
The first Grand Prix of the 2021 season in Australia having already been postponed, it is highly likely that the 2021 winter testing will be held at Sakhir in preparation for the Bahrain Grand Prix scheduled for March 28, 2021.
A week of 3 testing days could therefore be considered on March 12, 13, 14, 2021, in Bahrain. Although nothing official has been announced, Autosport reveals that the teams have agreed, allowing about ten days before the Grand Prix to make modifications to the cars.
What impact did the 2020 Barcelona tests have on the paddock?
February 19, 2020, a Champions League match between Atalanta Bergamo and FC Valencia brought together no less than 43,000 people in Milan.
1 week later, the first winter tests took place in Barcelona. Besides the bases of the Ferrari and AlphaTauri teams, it was mainly numerous Italian supporters who traveled to Barcelona in late February to attend the winter tests. The tests were still open to the public, and the mingling in the paddock among guests, visitors, and mechanics inevitably had an impact on the spread of Covid-19 within the paddock.
A few weeks later, in Australia, confirmed Covid cases resulted in the complete cancellation of the Australian Grand Prix, followed by a pause of several months due to lockdown.
