FERRARI announced yesterday that test driver Pedro de la Rosa and Marussia ace Jules Bianchi will be on duty at next week's Pirelli tyre test in Bahrain.
De la Rosa and Bianchi, who is also a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, will be sitting in for superstars Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen in the Ferrari cockpit.
Ferrari, Mercedes, world champions Red Bull and sister team Toro Rosso are the four outfits participating in the tests at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir from December 17 to 19.
After originally intending to take part, McLaren and Force India have withdrawn.
Lotus, Sauber, Williams, Marussia and Caterham are also not attending, leaving only four teams at the winter session.
None of the other participating squads have named their drivers for the three days of tests.
According to reports, however, Mercedes are expected to have both Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in Bahrain, while world champion Sebastian Vettel is understood not to be attending.
For Ferrari, de la Rosa will take the wheel for the first two days of running before handing over the duties over to Bianchi on the third and final day.
The Formula One Commission gave Pirelli the go-ahead to conduct the tests on safety grounds so that they can evaluate their 2014 prototypes. It will give the Italian tyre manufacturers a great amount of data to analyse during the off-season.
It will also have Pirelli better prepared for when Formula One's three official pre-season tests take place early next year.
Two of those tests are set to be held in Bahrain - the first from February 19 to 22 and the next from February 27 to March 2.
The first test will be held in Jerez, Spain from January 28 to 31.
Bahrain has long been a favourite destination for off-season Formula One testing due to the favourable weather conditions during the winter months, which allows for maximum track time.
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