FIA F3 Barcelona test postponed due to COVID travel ban
The FIA Formula 3 Championship has been forced to postpone its pre-season test at Barcelona next month due to a COVID-19 travel ban imposed on UK travellers
The news follows a decision to postpone the championship's Jerez pre-season test, to be held this week, due to travel restrictions put in place designed to slow the spread of coronavirus.
Organisers have been elected to reschedule the Barcelona test that was set to take place on 16-17 March after the Spanish Health Ministry further extended its ban on UK travellers from 2 March to 16 March.
The ban means British teams Carlin and Hitech Grand Prix, both fielding three cars each this year, would be unable to contest the two day test.
FIA F3 organisers issued a brief statement on the championship's official website, stating the test will be rescheduled.
"The 2021 FIA Formula 3 pre-season test in Barcelona, which was scheduled for March 16-17, has also been postponed," read the statement.
"This is again due to a travel ban for UK travellers which has now been further extended by the Spanish Health Ministry until 16 March.
"This ban makes it impossible for British teams, Carlin and Hitech Grand Prix, and for any UK based drivers to travel and participate in the two-day test.
"As a consequence, it has been decided that the test will be rescheduled at a later date, which will be announced in due time."
The championship is yet to confirm the dates for its rescheduled tests at Jerez and Barcelona.
It does however have a two-day test outing at Austria's Red Bull Ring planned for 3-4 April.
As preparations for the 2021 F3 campaign continue to ramp up, only Campos Racing, Carlin Buzz Racing and Charouz Racing are yet to reveal their full driver line-ups.
Earlier today, it was confirmed that Italian Formula 4 graduate Filip Ugran will complete the driver line-up at Jenzer Motorsport alongside Australian Calan Williams and Frenchman Pierre-Louis Chovet.
The 2021 season is not due to begin until the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix on 7-9 May.
FIA F3 2021 grid so far
Prema Racing: Arthur Leclerc, Dennis Hauger, Olli Caldwell
Trident: David Schumacher, Clement Novalak, Jack Doohan
ART Grand Prix: Frederik Vesti, Aleksandr Smolyar, Juan Manuel Correa
Hitech Grand Prix: Jak Crawford, Ayumu Iwasa, Roman Stanek
HWA Racelab: Matteo Nannini, Rafael Villagomez, Oliver Rasmussen
MP Motorsport: Victor Martins, Caio Collet, Tijmen van der Helm
Campos Racing: Amaury Cordeel, Lorenzo Colombo, TBA
Carlin Buzz Racing: Jonny Edgar, Ido Cohen, TBA
Jenzer Motorsport: Calan Williams, Pierre-Louis Chovet, Filip Ugran
Charouz Racing System: TBA, TBA, TBA
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