Why Will F1 Hold Its First 2022 ‘Shakedown’ Test Behind Closed Doors in Barcelona Amidst Heavy Backlash?

The trepidation towards the 2022 F1 season has been growing ever since the new car design was revealed six months ago. Fans wait to see their favorite teams display their new car, but moreover, they want to see the machines run. Hence, when news of the first Barcelona testing being private broke out, F1 fans wreaked havoc online. No one was happy to hear that the testing is to happen behind closed doors, but here’s why it is happening like this.

F1 officially confirmed its pre-season test dates; the two sessions preceding the 23 rounds of the season will take place on February 23rd in Barcelona, followed by a session on March 10th in Bahrain. The first of the two sessions will be low-key. F1 announced: the session “won’t feature live, race-style coverage or live timing, but will include content and best lap times at the end of each day.”

What has now been defined as a ‘shakedown’ session by the sport is best explained by Will Buxton. “Nobody has ever attended shakedowns. Not fans. Not media. They’ve always been strictly private affairs. Now the shakedowns are all happening at once and there’ll be coverage of them from the ground.”

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Nonetheless, fans are heavily disappointed about having to sit out the first testing of the new era. The new cars have been a thrilling prospect of the oncoming season, and while we mark our calendars as teams announce their unveiling of the cars, watching the beasts hit the tarmac will have us waiting painfully longer.

Why is the 2022 F1 test not televised?

The all-new technical regulations will be put on display in all their glory for the first time in Barcelona between February 23 and 25th. However, the public has been handed a blindfold. While there will be reports provided on the session, the event itself is being withheld from the public eye.

This session will not have live timings, nor will it be televised. Essentially, the testing in Barcelona has been labeled a shakedown; rather, an opportunity for teams to not only put their new machines to the test but, for the first time, see where they fall compared to their rivals. The new regulations have promised to rearrange the pecking order. Thus, the first test will be the most important.

Teams will have to put themselves on a curve, learning from the data and lessons they collect from the session in Barcelona. Understandably, it would be much more difficult to do so in the public eye. Therefore, the constructors have a substantial gap to the second, public testing in Bahrain.

However, teams can use either one or both of their promotional days of running. Teams can satisfy up to 100km on their cars using the demo tires. Many teams are expected to use this opportunity to shake down their cars ahead of testing; however, the arrangements remain elastic because of the tight schedule leading up to the reveals.

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