Formula One will not return to Bahrain for preseason testing next winter. This year, to guarantee good weather for all-important running of the radically new cars and engines, the teams headed to Bahrain's Sakhir track for eight days of running ahead of the season opener in Australia.
However, with cost-cutting now such a high priority, the sport will not be returning to the island kingdom ahead of the 2015 season, Speed Week is reporting.
Pirelli chief Paul Hembery backed the move.
"Bahrain is much further away from everything than Spain is, so testing there is more expensive,” Hembery said. "Logistically, Bahrain is a nightmare. If you have a problem, it takes a lot more time to fly out new parts. Six-hour flights, not two."
Speed Week correspondent Mathias Brunner said team bosses agreed in Canada over the weekend that three preseason tests will take place next winter -- all of them in Spain.
The precise dates have not yet been decided, but it is believed the winter testing will begin at Jerez and end with two sessions in Barcelona.
It is reported that, also for cost reasons, F1 could once again eliminate in-season testing, despite the fact the concept of post-race tests at some key Grand Prix circuits was only introduced this year.
