Today, Ferrari Kicks Off A Private Test Session At Fiorano
JAKARTA - On Monday, Ferrari will start a five-day private test at the Fiorano Circuit, Italy, by fielding their 2018 race car, the SF17H, involving seven riders.
Carlos Sainz will get his first chance to drive one of the Italian team's iconic red cars on the third day of the test, Wednesday (27/1), and on the morning of the fourth day, Antara quoted from Ferrari's official website.
It will be the only chance for the Spaniard to test a Ferrari before a three-day pre-season test session in Bahrain on March 12-14 where he and his team-mate Charles Leclerc will test a new Ferrari for the 2021 season.
Leclerc will hit the Ferrari-owned track on the second day of private testing, having previously had experience driving the SF17H at Mugello in June before the start of the 2020 season.
Ferrari will give the opportunity to three young riders from their riders academy; Giuliano Alesi, Marcus Armstrong and Robert Shwartzman, to start the test on Monday.
It will be Alesi's debut behind the wheel of an F1 car after her father Jean had previously tested a Ferrari F1-90 nearly three decades ago at the circuit.
Meanwhile, Armstrong will be the second New Zealand racer to drive a Ferrari F1 car after Chris Amon, who raced for the Ferrari team from 1967 to 1969.
Meanwhile Shwartzman rode the SF17H on September 30 and will wrap up the first day.
The last two riders to drive the SF17H are Mick Schumacher and Callum Illot, who last season fought each other for the F2 title.
Schumacher, who raced for the Haas F1 team this year after becoming the F2 world champion, will test on Thursday and Friday morning.
https://t.co/joNKFmdPfo # essereFerrari🔴
- Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) January 23, 2021
Ilott, now a Ferrari test driver, will summarize the five-day test session on Friday afternoon.
Formula 1 has overhauled the 2021 season calendar with the Australian Grand Prix postponed to November and Bahrain replacing it as host of the opening series.
The calendar still consists of 23 races starting with the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 28, one week ahead of the original schedule that was supposed to start in Melbourne.