Pirelli would prefer winter running in Bahrain

F1 appears headed to Dubai for pre-season testing early next year.

But the local The National newspaper said that, following team boss meetings in Hungary at the weekend, Abu Dhabi is also still in the running to host the guaranteed dry-weather running of the new V6-powered cars.

And according to Pirelli’s Paul Hembery, Bahrain should be yet another contender.

"We have agreed that some of the (winter) tests will be in the Middle East, in hot weather, which from our point of view is progress even though we are talking about before the start of the season," he said.

Hembery is quoted by Russia’s f1news.ru as admitting that Dubai is the frontrunner.

"We (Pirelli) have been there before, for many kinds of different races, but the problem is that the circuit is used rarely and there’s a lot of sand on the asphalt.

"I would regard Bahrain as the best option for testing," he added.

The National said next season’s three-test winter period will begin in late January at Jerez, Spain.