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Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso has called out what he believes are “unfair” testing rules, leaving him with less than two days of on-track action ahead of lights out in Bahrain for the first Grand Prix.
Alonso left unimpressed with testing structure
Under the current structure of pre-season testing, there are three days available for teams to test out their new cars; due to this odd number of days, it means that each driver only gets around one and a half days out on track.
However, alongside only having three days to split between each driver, the teams are only allowed to field one car per day, reducing the amount of running they could potentially achieve.
Alonso, who has openly criticised the structure of the current testing format, enjoyed a positive start to the beginning of the 2023 season, taking home a podium in the opening two races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
But after a long break over the winter, the 42-year-old admitted he had “been thinking all winter” about the structure and the unfairness of the current layout.
Speaking to Racing News 365, Alonso said:
“We have a very limited testing in Bahrain, which is, and by the way I can say now, I’ve been thinking all winter about this, how unfair is [it] that we have one day and a half to prepare a world championship.
“There’s no other sport in the world…
“With all the money involved, and with 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 then go to Bahrain for four days, which could be two and two for [each of] the drivers.”
Confusion over the one-car rule
Last year’s pre-season testing ahead of the 2023 season saw Aston Martin complete the third-highest number of laps across all the teams in the paddock, with them completing 157 laps compared to the likes of McLaren, who only managed 81.
Now, the two-time World Champion has suggested that with the amount of money in the sport and extra day of testing would allow each driver to have two days of testing each something the Spaniard believes makes more sense when they are in Bahrain for four days.
“If you go to three, which is not even, which is an odd number, you cannot divide [fairly] between the drivers.
“And I don’t know why we don’t go with two cars.”
Pre-season testing begins on the 21st of February at 7 am GMT (10 am local time).
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