Ferrari asks for China preview

The move follows Williams test driver Marc Gene's demonstration run at the new Bahrain International Circuit and, even though Williams technical director Patrick Head has said that his team will have no advantage in next month's Bahrain Grand Prix, Ferrari have asked for the same opportunity in Shanghai.

McLaren had also hoped to have a run at the Shanghai track, but team boss Ron Dennis said: "We should have been driving in China between the rounds in Malaysia and Bahrain, but our cars and material didn't make it through customs."

Tester Gene drove one of Williams' 2003 FW25 cars at Bahrain's desert track, located near the capital Manama, in a demonstration run last December, and remains the only driver to have tried out the track.

Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya might have hoped to benefit from the sneak preview of the circuit in order to gain some more ground on runaway championship leader Michael Schumacher, but his technical chief has dismissed any such idea.

"Marc drove the car and, even though there was a lot of grit blowing around, the grip levels were not too bad," Head told The Guardian.

"We did just 25 laps which will probably help us for the first half an hour of the first practice session in Bahrain, but the other teams will soon catch up when they start running. It should be fine as long as there isn't a sand storm, in which case conditions could be very difficult."

Montoya was second in last weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix, behind Ferrari's Schumacher. It was a second disappointing weekend for the Williams driver, who had hoped that the heat of Sepang would benefit his Michelin tyres more than Schumacher's Bridgestones.

The same has been felt about Bahrain, where track temperatures are expected to be in excess of 40C.

Organisers of the Bahrain race, which will be the first grand prix to be held in the Middle East, have said they will not be taking any extra security measures for the April 3/4 event, despite the British Foreign Office classifying the country as having a "high threat of terrorism".