From the outside, and admittedly I've never been involved with F1(!), this strikes me as a bit odd. Either you miss the first test and rock-up at Bahrain a couple of weeks later, having pushed development on for another couple of weeks and not bothered to develop and construct some effectively temporary parts, or you make this first test. Gaining a day or two, but reducing days on track intentionally seems like an own-goal. Surely you'd rather have the shake-down and begin to get the feel of things, even if very marginally less developed, than get this day or two extension. I guess if you were pushing things to the last minute and miscalculated by a bit, that would explain, but not excuse it?
Just thinking aloud for fun and interest, while we wait
