FIA limits Young Drivers’ Test to three days

2013 F1 season

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The FIA has revised the restrictions on next week’s Young Drivers Test.

Significantly, they confirmed it will run over three days and not four, ending Mercedes’ hopes of partial participation in the test. The team were banned from attending it last month after the FIA International Tribunal ruled a three-day test it conducted with Pirelli was illegal.

The FIA confirmed teams will use 2012-construction tyres only which will have 2013-specification compounds. The hard, medium and soft tyres will be available.

Drivers who do not meet the FIA’s criteria for a “young” driver will be allowed to participate in the test to sample the new tyres. But the FIA will impose limits on their participation in car development:

“The test will now allow teams to field drivers who have competed in more than two F1 world championship events provided that the purpose of them doing this is to test tyres for Pirelli,” said an FIA statement.

“In order to meet this requirement, all teams shall ensure that any changes made to a car at these times are exclusively related to the tyre tests set out in the run plan provided by Pirelli.”

The FIA will send an observer to ensure the teams adhere to the rules. The test will take place at Silverstone from July 17th to 19th.

Following Sunday’s German Grand Prix Fernando Alonso indicated he would be willing to take advantage of the opportunity to test:

“When we arrived here on Thursday, the Silverstone test did not seem that important, because the race drivers were only meant to be testing the tyres, but having heard what the FIA had to say, it’s been confirmed that we can test updates and this makes it a much more sensible proposition. If I get the call from the team, I’m ready to go.”

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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14 comments on “FIA limits Young Drivers’ Test to three days”

  1. The penalty was first proposed by Merc camp and now they want to test???

    I think the IT should reopen the case and evaluate some contradiction statement made by them pre and post the silverstone event.

    1. What has changed in the meantime is that completely new tyres will be introduced, which all teams will have three days of running on in time for the next race, except for Mercedes.

      I’m not sure their request would have been granted anyway, though. I read their idea was to request to run on safety grounds, i.e., the test was to ensure that the new tyres are safe, so it would only be safe for all teams to test the tyres. However, I think 10 teams doing 3 days of running should be enough to prove the tyres safe.

  2. Yay for justice!!!

    1. Completely agree, I’m still sick to my stomach about the massive advantage Mercedes gained from their secret tyre test. Just look at the way they streaked away from the field last Sunday. Oh wait.

      Seriously, this is good news only if you want to see Vettel march to his next title with minimum opposition.

      1. Yes, it is almost as if their unfair advantage was suddenly negated by switching back to the old tires.

        Oh, wait. That’s what actually happened.

        1. hehe right.
          They messed up the championship strategies with a move they normally could’nt have done in such a short time.
          But the unexpected safety concerns shuffeled cards one more time. It turns out that it comes at a very bad time for Mercedes, actually.

      2. That’s a big question mark. Essentially they’re hitting the “reset” button on the season and now everybody starts over with different tyres for the next ten races, with a new race on to see who can get on top of the tyres first.

        The Merc is unquestionably a very fast package, hampered so far only by struggles with the tyres. But they have as good a chance at prospering going forward as anybody else.

  3. I’d laugh if it rains

    1. Same here! I don’t understand how the FIA expect Mercedes to start the Hungarian F1 week-end with a blind set-up on the new tyres… Some justice is due there!

  4. I suggested after the IT that as the Young Drivers’ Test was now being used to substitute the running that Mercedes had in Barcelona that Ferrari should run Alonso and RBR should run Webber etc … nice to see that might now actually be a fair replacement.

  5. Strange quote from Alonso. Is he misreading that he can test updates, or am I misreading that he cant?

    1. @george
      I doubt that Pirelli’s runplan dictates the components on the car (but likely that the car is kept to the same specification from start to finish of this runplan).
      If that is the case, then the race drivers should be allowed to run new components, but they have to keep to the tests of setup with different tyres that Pirelli supplies. Which will limit them rather a lot in terms of testing these components at different ride heights, and at different fuel loads.

  6. Justice! Good to see Mercedes cannot weasel out of THEIR OWN PICKED punishment.

  7. Hi, i have purchased tickets for the friday , does anyone know what teams are likely to run? im guessing everyone but mercedes (of course) but i just read somewhere else that some of the bigger teams are waiting until abu dhabi??

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