Ferrari plans extra test for Sainz: 'We want to drive in January'

For the upcoming Formula 1 season many drivers will change employers, where it is especially important to get acquainted with the car and the team as soon as possible. Sainz seems to get an extra test, unlike a number of colleagues.

It is no secret that teams can vary a lot in Formula 1. From the setup of the car to how the team works during a race weekend. Therefore, when changing teams, spending time with your new colleagues and driving the car before the season is extremely important. Reducing the number of test days from six to three, as it looks at the moment, does not help.

The regulations only allow teams to organize an extra test to drive a car that has been used in one of the three calendar years before 2020. "Of course we plan to organize something for Carlos Sainz to make sure he is integrated into the team as soon as possible and is familiar with the car, the engineers, our way of working and our procedures. The simulator is important for this, but we are also trying to arrange something for him in January to drive an old car," explains Mattia Binotto to Formula1.com.

Not the same luxury for other teams

So while Sainz is likely to get an important extra day of testing, Daniel Ricciardo doesn't have that luxury. "The rules are pretty clear about what we are allowed to do. We don't currently have the opportunity at McLaren to drive an old car and we are of course working as hard as we can to integrate him into the team as soon as possible," team boss Andreas Seidl said of his new employee.

Sebastian Vettel also doesn't get the luxury of driving an old car at Aston Martin. "We don't have the opportunity to drive a two year old car. So we will do a lot of sim work with Seb and make the best use of the three days of testing to get him ready for the first race," concludes Otmar Szafnauer.