Teams agree to more winter testing

Discussions about a pre-race test in Bahrain immediately before the 2011 season took place at Spa-Francorchamps.

We reported at the weekend that the team managers’ meeting about the 2011 test schedule took place on Friday.

Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport had said 15 days of winter testing, with four of them occurring in Bahrain in the days before the March 13 season opener, were on the table.

But FOTA chairman Martin Whitmarsh has revealed that there will actually be six full tests in the off-season, including one in Bahrain.

"It (Bahrain) hasn’t been quite agreed yet," he warned.

"We want to make sure that it’s cost effective for the small teams," added the McLaren team boss.

A more contentious issue for the small teams is their bigger rivals’ desire for some proper in-season testing, with the only non-race running allowed at present being straight-line tests and demonstrations.

"I personally would like to see more testing but I am respectful of the fact that there are teams still hurting," said Whitmarsh. "We’ve now got at least six tests in the winter so that’s a step further forward. What we haven’t got at the moment is agreement to test during the season."