F1 teams say 3 test days are plenty, but do rookies get a fair chance?

Times have changed in terms of what is needed from testing. Simulators have given drivers the opportunity to learn tracks and teams the chance to try endless set-up permutations, while CFD and ever more efficient wind tunnels have ensured that aero parts that get as far as the car are usually well proven.

Factory rigs allow teams to test chassis components to destruction, and power unit dynos are more sophisticated than they were years ago. There’s also no tyre war, which makes a huge difference to the need for track mileage.

However all of that preparation and simulation doesn’t always transfer perfectly to the track. CFD and tunnels still have to be correlated with the actual car – hence the clumsy aero rigs seen this week.

Last year porpoising only reared its head when cars were running in real world conditions, and it was not something that could be easily resolved via simulation. And while young drivers can learn a lot in sims there is no substitute for track mileage in furthering their education.

That begs the question are this week’s three days enough? And wouldn’t it better if teams ran two cars apiece, as they used to testing in the old days, a strategy that was briefly revived at last year’s post-Abu Dhabi GP test?

Drivers might be keen to do more, but among the team bosses who sign the cheques there is no appetite for change, other than possible tweaks to how filming days work.

“I think we have a good plan going forward to stay where we are, and maybe add a bit of more flexibility with the filming days,” Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said on Thursday. “I don’t think we should increase costs by just having a second car, or doing more days.

“I think we should give young drivers some time in the car. But obviously, that’s also not very easy. So if we were to stay where we are, that’s good for us.”

“I personally would like to have 10 test days or whatever,” AlphaTauri’s Franz Tost. “It’s a financial reason. Every kilometre run with such a car is quite expensive. And we also now have very, very good simulation tools.

“Of course, you can do it, but then you have less money for development during the year. It’s a question of how you want to do it. And we have 23 races. That means if you want to do more tests for during the season or whatever, you would need a second team. And once more we are talking about costs, which are then dramatically increasing.”

“F1 teams evolved so much, they’re so much more organised and professional”

A key factor this winter is that there are no major rule updates, which was certainly not the case last year, when we still had two sessions for the brand new cars. The next big change comes in 2026, including a revamped power unit.

“Honestly, I think that this season is the continuity of the previous one, and not I’m sure that it makes sense to double the mileage in the winter period,” said Ferrari’s Fred Vasseur.

“Perhaps for the new regulations we’ll come back to something a bit more robust in terms of testing to prepare for 2026 in the best condition. But for 2023, I think it’s okay.”

“Last year was different because there was a regulation change, a complete new car,” agreed Haas team boss Guenther Steiner. “This year, it’s not a complete new car, the cars even look similar to last year. So it’s a completely different story.

“I think the F1 teams evolved so much, they’re so much more organised and professional. So if we know this is going to happen, we get prepared for it, you just put more effort in coming to the test, and you tighten up everything, so you get here better prepared.”

The most bullish view on controlling testing came from Red Bull’s Christian Horner.

“Look at the reliability we’ve had this morning,” he said after Thursday’s first half session. “I think we had one red flag very early on, that was rectified pretty quickly. These regulations are pretty stable.

“I mean, one could even argue the opposite. When you look at the reliability and so on, you’d almost say, with the amount of races that the promoters are looking to cram in now, why not do two days of testing and then go racing?

“Because if that does create a little bit of a more mixed field at the beginning of the season, is that such a bad thing? And you’ve got enough of the year then to sort it out.

“But ’26 is a very different prospect, because obviously, everything is new in terms of the concept of engine and chassis. With the current regulations I think three days is ample, plus with what we discussed in the F1 Commission about [more flexibility with] filming days.”

If there is an issue with the lack of testing it’s that it can discourage teams from taking rookies. We have three on the grid this year, namely Oscar Piastri, Logan Sargeant and Nyck De Vries. While they can learn unfamiliar tracks in sims, they still face an uphill battle, especially with sprint events compromising GP weekends.

“We have six sprint races,” says De Vries’s boss Tost. “That means we have just FP1, and then you go into the qualifying. And if you have a very inexperienced young driver, it’s a problem. Because even with our current drivers, this is not an easy exercise.

“We must not forget Nyck, for example. He doesn’t know all the race tracks. He doesn’t know Saudi Arabia, he will not know Melbourne. I think he has never been in Singapore, or in Sao Paulo, or in Suzuka.

“It is difficult when you jump into a new car that needs to be brought up to speed”

“There are a couple of tracks where he’ll be there the first time and if now in FP1 is wet, qualifying is dry, we have a sprint race, then it’s becoming a difficult exercise. If you bring in a young driver, you really have to prepare him in the best possible way.”

The only comfort for the rookies is that this week’s test leads into a debut at the same venue.

“I think track time is extremely low,” said Sargeant when I asked him about mileage. “It is difficult, especially when you jump into a new car that needs to be brought up to speed. And at least as you said, it is the same as the first race, but it would be nice if we had a little bit more time in the car.”

All three rookies should have a relatively gentle introduction in Bahrain next week. But take a look the calendar –  the races that follow are Saudi Arabia, Australia, Azerbaijan and Miami. They are all temporary or street venues that reward experience and confidence, and where the margin between hero and zero is slim. Arguably no rookie crop has ever faced such a tricky test…