Niki Lauda to push for 2017 Bahrain test

Niki Lauda has said that he will push the teams to allow Pirelli to do some pre-season testing in a warm location like Bahrain.

As the Italian marque prepares for the vastly different car and tyre specifications for 2017, teams have until now argued against straying beyond Europe for the limited pre-season test programme.

Yet Mercedes team chairman Lauda insisted to Auto Motor und Sport: "It would be madness to test the new cars and tyres only in Europe. What happens if it rains?"

Agreement on non-European testing will only be possible with the unanimous consent of all the teams.