Fernando Alonso asserts that the limited pre-season testing provided to Formula 1 drivers is unfair and suggests that teams should have the opportunity to utilize both of their cars. In previous years, except for 2022 when the latest ground effect cars were introduced, winter testing consisted of two four-day tests. However, it has now been condensed into a single three-day schedule in Bahrain, where the season-opener also takes place. This change has been regarded as a cost-effective measure. Nonetheless, the restricted distance covered during testing has proven to be challenging for rookies to adapt to, despite there being no newcomers on the 2024 grid. Alonso, who is entering his 21st season in F1, still believes that one-and-a-half days per driver is inadequate. He expressed his thoughts, stating, “We have a very limited testing in Bahrain. There is no other sport in the world with all the money involved and all the marketing and the good things that we say about Formula 1, and being closer and closer to the fans, I cannot understand why we don’t go to Bahrain for four days, which could be two and two for the drivers. If you go to three, which is an odd number, you cannot divide between the drivers. I don’t know why we don’t go with two cars, because we are in Bahrain, and we race there the following week.” Alonso’s concerns are not unique, as Mercedes driver and GPDA director George Russell also supported his proposal last year. Russell stated, “Personally speaking, I don’t think three days is enough, because you have got to remember from a driver’s perspective, that is one and a half days per driver. Could you imagine Rafael Nadal spending 12 weeks without hitting a ball and then going straight into the French Open with one and a half days of training? It just wouldn’t ever happen. I understand and recognize why we do that. I think three days with two cars would probably be a good place to be.”
According to the Source motorsportweek.com
