Fernando Alonso will proceed to organize for his Components One return with Renault subsequent 12 months by driving this 12 months’s automotive at a post-season check in Abu Dhabi.
Alonso’s participation within the check is controversial as the only day of operating on the Yas Marina circuit was imagined to be reserved for younger drivers with fewer than two F1 race appearances.
Nonetheless, when Renault signed Alonso for 2021 it lobbied the game’s governing physique, the FIA, to permit the veteran of 311 grands prix to participate within the check.
Alonso drove this 12 months’s Renault F1 automotive at a filming day in October, however the overwhelming majority of his preparation has been in a 2018-spec automotive with the intention to abide to F1’s strict in-season testing guidelines.
The permission for Alonso to check in Abu Dhabi was granted by the FIA, which has now opened the session as much as all drivers aside from the 20 who’ve frequently raced in F1 this 12 months.
Rivals opposed Alonso being granted particular dispensation, together with McLaren and Racing Level who determined a number of months in the past not to participate within the check as a result of they didn’t have a younger driver who wanted mileage.
Renault will run two automobiles on the single-day check — as all groups are allowed to do — with Chinese language F2 driver Guanyu Zhou driving the second automotive.
“We want to thank the FIA and F1 for his or her acceptance of our check plans, made in recognition of our dedication to younger drivers all through junior motorsport and to Fernando’s personal dedication to furthering the careers of younger abilities,” Renault staff principal Cyril Abiteboul stated.
“For Fernando this would be the subsequent step in his return. He has labored tirelessly to verify he’s as prepared as he presumably could be for 2021. He desires to contribute totally — not simply to the staff, however to the followers and the game he has missed previously two years.
“Zhou has skilled the advantage of the Renault Sport Academy, having joined its ranks final 12 months. He has labored arduous and made a real contribution to the efficiency of the staff by means of his work within the simulator and check programme. I’m delighted he can drive the R.S.20 to enrich his journey thus far.”