F1 teams look to schedule testing at Spa

Team bosses and Formula One's testing committee are due to finalise discussions about a test at the venue of the Belgian Grand Prix for the second week of July.

The current schedule is for teams to run at Barcelona that week. However, most teams are keen to run at Spa instead, because the circuit has been revised since F1 last raced there in 2005.

Spa-Francorchamps circuit bosses are also understood to be keen to support the test, because it will help promote the return of the Belgian Grand Prix following its absence from last year's schedule.

The track has not yet been homologated by the FIA, but autosport.com understands that this should be a formality and that if the teams agree on the test this week, it will definitely go ahead.

As well as the need to understand circuit revisions, teams are anxious to test at the Belgian track due to the unique characteristics of the Eau Rouge corner.

The G-forces that are experienced through the compression at the bottom of the hill have sometimes caused problems for engines and their oil systems, which is why Renault opted to test through that corner back in 2005 following their issues in 2004.

The decision to include Spa in the testing schedule comes with teams keen to get as much running as possible at actual Grand Prix tracks, now that they are allowed to decide among themselves where they run.

Teams will be testing at Bahrain later this month, and they will also run at Sepang just two weeks before the Malaysian Grand Prix.