Bahrain hoping to lure teams for pre season testing

With the snowy and frigid weather taking place all across Europe, the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) is hoping to lure some teams to test in the Middle East before the season officially starts. And while pre season testing is limited to Europe, the BIC expects willing teams to get permission from their fellow competitors to circumvent the prohibition.

As CEO of the BIC, Martin Whitaker told the 'Gulf Daily New's, "We are currently talking to the teams and I am sure that many of them would be more than happy to test in Bahrain. Testing outside of Europe is now banned as part of F1's cost-cutting activities, but if teams who want to come here and can get the permission of their rivals, we would be glad to welcome them."

"Right now, it is still too early to say for sure - a lot of them are not even ready to run their new cars - but we are confident that we could have one or two come out to Bahrain and test before the season."

Currently all testing is scheduled to take place in Spain, with Jerez, Barcelona, and Valencia sharing the action. Although the new USF1 team is planning to test at the beginning of February at the Barber Motorsport Park in the state of Alabama over in America.