Formula One is returning to an iconic circuit for the first time in six years following the cancellation of two races in April. There is a lengthy break until the action returns at next month’s Miami Grand Prix after the scheduled races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were scrubbed from the calendar.
The two nations were affected by Iran’s retaliatory strikes on American military bases in the Gulf region following the outbreak of war in the Middle East. The cancellations had been expected for weeks, but F1 bosses held out until the last possible moment to see if hostilities would cease. However, there was no such luck and the races were aborted, with no plans to reschedule them.
Steps have already been taken to make up for lost time, with Pirelli conducting some wet running in Suzuka following the Japanese Grand Prix. Ferrari will also hold wet tests at their private Fiorano circuit later this week.
Another test will be staged at the Nurburgring, where F1 raced periodically between 1951 and 2013. The iconic circuit hasn’t hosted a Grand Prix since 2020, when it was restored to the calendar as a one-off during the pandemic.
McLaren and Mercedes, the teams taking part in the test, will use the Grand Prix layout rather than the much longer and more challenging Nordschleife, which F1 dropped after 1976 due to safety concerns.
It came after Niki Lauda’s infamous fireball crash, which left him horribly burned and forced improvements in driver safety and fire protocols.
The modern layout used for the upcoming test will feature extensive run-off areas and advanced digital monitoring systems, creating optimal data-gathering conditions.
The test will also see F1 cars driven in Germany for the first time since 2020, having fallen off the calendar entirely since Hockenheim was removed in 2019.
A series of tyre tests are scattered throughout the season, with Pirelli allowed to run a maximum of 40 days to accumulate the data they need to refine tyre compounds.
They are currently contracted to produce F1 tyres until 2027 but are widely expected to extend that agreement for at least a further year.
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