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Christian Horner thinks that Formula One should remain in Bahrain following next April's Grand Prix and test then, rather than going to the Gulf state in pre-season.
The Red Bull boss has been very much against plans to test in Bahrain instead of Barcelona next year, but Pirelli is insisting that at least one of the pre-determined test sessions are held in a warmer climate.
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However, Horner thinks that warm testing would be irrelevant for the start of the year, so if it really is necessary, it can be put off until after the Bahrain Grand Prix.
"For the first four races, Melbourne can be pretty chilly, China's certainly pretty cool, Bahrain's a night race and Russia can also be on the cooler side," he said. "So maybe a more sensible solution would be to stay in Bahrain after the race [on April 26] and rather than do the test in Barcelona mid-season, do it in Bahrain when everybody's kit and personnel is at that circuit."
Testing in Bahrain as opposed to Spain presents a large rise in costs, and although against the idea of testing outside of Europe, Horner has admitted that he would be willing to agree to it if Pirelli contributed to the costs.
"The scenario is very simple, really, in that if Pirelli want us to test in Bahrain, in a hot climate for their benefit, then they should contribute to the burden of costs," he said. "Particularly after all the testing we're doing with the [mule] cars we've built and are running at the moment."
"The costs range from different teams is between £300-750,000 depending on your logistics, and it seems unfair to burden the teams with that when Barcelona in March is a pretty decent venue to go testing at," he added.
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