Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel to get some time behind the wheel of an older-spec Ferrari. Ferrari set for private tests as they ramp up preparations for F1 return.

The sound of a Formula 1 engine will once again reverberate around a race track as early as next week, with Mercedes planning a two-day private test at Silverstone and Ferrari set to follow suit in the coming weeks as they gear up for F1’s return next month.

According to Formula 1’s official website, Scuderia Ferrari will conduct a test in the coming weeks (date and location have not yet been confirmed), giving Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel the chance to warm up ahead of their return to racing, which will take place at the beginning of July in Austria.

Teams have not run Formula 1 machinery since pre-season testing was completed at the end of February, with the start of the 2020 campaign delayed because of the coronavirus.

When the season resumes next month in Austria, it will do so behind closed doors and under strict protocols to ensure personnel’s safety. With this in mind, teams are keen to practise those protocols and shake off any rust so they hit the ground running at the Red Bull Ring for the first race on July 5.

Regulations prevent teams from running 2020-spec cars and tyres, but they are permitted to run older cars, which were designed for the rules in the three years before 2019, on Pirelli Academy tyres.