Formula 1 pre-season testing to take place at Sakhir circuit in Bahrain

Paris: Formula One pre-season testing will take place at the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain from 12-14 March, F1's promoter and the International Automobile Federation (FIA) confirmed in a schedule released on Tuesday.

Testing was originally slated for Barcelona in early March but was moved following the postponement of what should have been the season-opening Australian Grand Prix to November.

The record, 23-race 2021 season will now begin in Bahrain on 28 March, a week later than the originally scheduled start in Melbourne.

No new date has been set for the Chinese Grand Prix, normally held in April, which has also been postponed.

Winter tests have been reduced to three days instead of six in 2021, the cars remaining essentially the same as in 2020 as a cost-saving measure in the midst of the crisis.