Pre-season testing for the 2018 Formula One season will begin on February 26, as Scuderia Ferrari has confirmed its driver line-up. Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen will be the first to officially run the new car at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, next Monday, after the Maranello team’s 2018 challenger will be revealed tomorrow afternoon. German driver Sebastian Vettel will take to the Spanish track on Tuesday (February 27), while Kimi will return for the third day of the testing session, on Wednesday (February 28), before his German teammate will complete the last of the four-day testing session.
There will be two four-day tests, both held at Barcelona, ahead of the season-opening race scheduled to take place in Melbourne, Australia on March 25. The first test will run from February 26 to March 1 with a second following between March 6-9. There was consensus among all Formula One teams that Barcelona was the best option given the quality of the track for data gathering and weather conditions during this time of the year. One team pushed for a test at the Paul Ricard circuit, which will host next year’s returning French Grand Prix, but the request did not gather sufficient support from rivals. The running will be in addition to two in-season tests, each lasting two days, that will take place after the Spanish and Hungarian Grands Prix.
Each test will take place on the Tuesday and Wednesday following the track’s F1 race – on May 15-16 at Barcelona and July 31-August 1 at the Hungaroring. As last year, teams will be required to allocate two of those four days to young driver testing.
2018 testing schedule
February 26-March 1 (Barcelona)
March 6-9 (Barcelona)
May 15-16 (Barcelona)
July 31-August 1 (Hungaroring)
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