With the calendar set to comprise 22 races next year, the most ever in the sport's history, in a bid to reduce team workloads there will be a reduction in testing.

Pre-season testing, which in recent years has consisted of two lots of four days, will now comprise two lots of three days, meaning a loss of two days testing.

The dates currently planned are February 19 to 21 and then from 26 to 28.

However, the big surprise is that other than this, the teams have agreed to the scrapping of in-season testing, which in recent years has consisted of two days of running following specific Grands Prix.

Though teams will now have to make more use of FP1 for testing parts, the lack of in-season testing will impact young drivers, whose participation in the tests in recent years has been mandatory.

The post-season test in Abu Dhabi however will be extended by one day in order to allow the teams to try the 2021-spec 18-inch tyres using mule cars.

"We all agreed on it, we all think it's a good idea," Guenther Steiner told reporters at Spa. "If you would have asked ten years ago if doing six days a year was workable, I would say it's impossible.

"Now it's possible. We've gone from eight days pre-season and four days in-season to six days and no days. We will survive."

Check out our Friday gallery from Spa, here.

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1. Posted by Insane Reindeer, 31/08/2019 7:43

"They throw more races at the teams, and in a nod to "cutting costs" and "making life easier" for them they cut testing. How, in the name of all that is holy, meant to make life easier for them?!

Surely they should just take all the testing restrictions away. Let the teams where they want, whenever they want for however long they want with what ever driver/drivers they want. Not only do the teams get a much better understanding of the actual car, it can help with everything from R&D to plain old reliability. Of course the parts that the teams use in testing must be separate from those that they are expected to use on the race weekends.

A massive increase in testing would also benefit drivers new to teams, new drivers to the sport and, yes, improve the racing! How? Because the teams would have chances to try new things without worrying about wasting time at a race weekend or going down the wrong path. I can't honestly believe that Williams would still be this bad if they had more time to work on their car on an actual track. "

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Testing to be cut back in 2020

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