2022 Barcelona pre-season test "behind closed doors"

[Greem]

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...7mFTDubau.html

No live timing, no TV coverage, no spectators. Being run like a private test session.

There must be *very* little confidence in the new cars to have closed it off.

[ascarracinguk]

Originally Posted by Greem

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...7mFTDubau.html

No live timing, no TV coverage, no spectators. Being run like a private test session.

There must be *very* little confidence in the new cars to have closed it off.

How bizzare!!!!

The biggest shake up of the rules in a decade, people all excited and youd think F1 would want people to see it.

Wonder what the real reason is?

[Richard Casto]

I had read somewhere weeks ago that the live coverage is being reserved for the Bahrain test because.... Bahrain organizers wants the TV/live action eyeballs on their test (circuit) and not the Barcelona test. Sort of like Abu Dhabi wanting their race to be the season finally.

I don't think this is any type of lack of confidence in the cars given the press will be at the Barcelona test and there will be full coverage... minus live video. Not sure if they are allowing video end of day summary or if it will just be text/photos.

Richard

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by ascarracinguk

How bizzare!!!!

The biggest shake up of the rules in a decade, people all excited and youd think F1 would want people to see it.

Wonder what the real reason is?

Could it have something to do with Liberty Media posting an end of day report on their website???

[gert]

Disappointing but sadly exactly what I expected.
Another F... Y.. to the fans.

F1/Liberty does not care about the fans who are interested in the cars, technology or lap times.
They never have and they never will.


The are interested in the Netflix/Facebook-generation. That's the market they are after.

[chillibowl]

Originally Posted by Richard Casto

I had read somewhere weeks ago that the live coverage is being reserved for the Bahrain test because.... Bahrain organizers wants the TV/live action eyeballs on their test (circuit) and not the Barcelona test. Sort of like Abu Dhabi wanting their race to be the season finally.

i was thinking a choice was made earlier in the omicron spread to limit the size of the paddock...but its F1 so for sure the 'privilege' was sold for a fee.

Originally Posted by gert

The are interested in the Netflix/Facebook-generation. That's the market they are after.

and this...no doubt coverage of real F1 activates wont start or conflict with the release of Drive to Survive season 4.

[Richard Casto]

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

Could it have something to do with Liberty Media posting an end of day report on their website???

Do you mean the F1 TV site/service?

Originally Posted by chillibowl

i was thinking a choice was made earlier in the omicron spread to limit the size of the paddock...but its F1 so for sure the 'privilege' was sold for a fee.

Given they are saying they will broadcast a 60 minute summary for Barcelona and live for Bahrain. It sounds like the broadcast capabilities between the two will be roughly the same. Plus journalists are going to be at both. My point, I can't see a Covid tie in.

It's unfortunate. But I do think we will see video of the cars from both tests. I am not even sure if I can watch either here in the US (other than via the F1 TV service). I think ESPN will continue to show the Sky TV coverage here, but I don't know if that includes ANY pre-season testing.

Richard

[Richard Casto]

Another thing I find interesting. The Barcelona testing live TV situation seems to be a "new" news item over the past few days. But you can find articles that talk about 2022 testing schedules and broadcast limitations as far back as November of last year (see example below dated Nov 1st). Somehow everyone woke up recently and realized this (or it is a slow news day).

https://www.planetf1.com/news/f1-202...dcast-details/
https://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/...tertests-2022/

Richard

[bathurst77]

However, as is traditional with teams’ pre-testing-type events, the running at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya won’t feature live, race-style coverage or live timing, but will include content and best lap times at the end of each day

The Official Pre-Season Test will then take place in Bahrain on March 10-12, ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix on the weekend of March 18-20. Fans will be in attendance, while there will also be live TV coverage and timing.

We’ll be bringing you coverage from both Barcelona and Bahrain on F1.com.

[Casper]

Originally Posted by gert

The are interested in the Netflix/Facebook-generation. That's the market they are after.

Ah! at last someone else gets it. I wonder why the penny has not dropped for everyone. They bought F1 for the media content and nothing else which is why they had to have the likes of Brawn etc to run the race side of things. There are two totally different agendas at work in F1 these days.

[S griffin]

So we can't even follow it online? Well that's just pants. It's not that hard to put live timing up there. Something is not right here. F1 ain't doing itself much favours with this

[Greem]

Originally Posted by Richard Casto

Another thing I find interesting. The Barcelona testing live TV situation seems to be a "new" news item over the past few days. But you can find articles that talk about 2022 testing schedules and broadcast limitations as far back as November of last year (see example below dated Nov 1st). Somehow everyone woke up recently and realized this (or it is a slow news day).

https://www.planetf1.com/news/f1-202...dcast-details/
https://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/...tertests-2022/

Richard

I knew nothing about it at all. Had neither seen, heard nor read anything about it last November or since.

Friends of mine who'd booked flights and hotels also knew nothing about it, so it clearly didn't get too much coverage.

It only bothers me because I have very fond memories of the 2009 Barcelona test where the Brawn team arrived two days late and promptly pulled about 5s on everyone else. I did have a copy of the great Bamber cartoon from Autosport the week after but I lost it in an office move

[E.B]

Im wondering if it is something to do with avoiding the precedent of two separate pre season sessions. We had only one session last year and the only reason it seems that there was a second session added this year was team pressure given the new regs and cars. Thus they have positioned Catalunya as not a full blown test set up but rather a simple (closed doors) shakedown to put some miles on the new cars, hence no peripheral fan type trimmings for Catalunya.

The next year then there is less pressure to have a second session 'as 2022'. By classifying the initial outing as a shakedown rather than a full blown test it is easier to go into 2023 with just the one pre season test given no need for the 'shakedown' given this year as a one-off for the new cars.

I admit it is maybe a clutching at straws type of justification but.....

[Richard Casto]

Originally Posted by E.B

Im wondering if it is something to do with avoiding the precedent of two separate pre season sessions. We had only one session last year and the only reason it seems that there was a second session added this year was team pressure given the new regs and cars. Thus they have positioned Catalunya as not a full blown test set up but rather a simple (closed doors) shakedown to put some miles on the new cars, hence no peripheral fan type trimmings for Catalunya.

The next year then there is less pressure to have a second session 'as 2022'. By classifying the initial outing as a shakedown rather than a full blown test it is easier to go into 2023 with just the one pre season test given no need for the 'shakedown' given this year as a one-off for the new cars.

I admit it is maybe a clutching at straws type of justification but.....

Last year was only one continuous set of days (maybe as so much was frozen between the 2020 and 2021 seasons?), but I think at least the two prior years testing was split into two chunks of days. Not sure about prior to that.

It sucks, but the story that Bahrain wanted some level of exclusively makes sense to me. I assume money or some other compensation took place.

Richard

[Casper]

There are now two separate divisions in F1, the production division to provide the entertainment and the media division to use the available entertainment and turn it into money. Get used to it because it is going to continue, the only reason the sprint races were introduced was to supply more media hours that could be sold and nothing else. Bahrein knew that money talks and they got to call the shots.