Bernie wants Monday Testing
Discussion
Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has indicated he his in favour of instituting Monday testing from next season.
In-season testing is currently banned, a decision that has proved very problematic for many teams in terms of car and driver development.
"I am sure that in the future we will test on the Monday after races," Ecclestone told Auto Motor und Sport.
"The failure of the current system is that it is virtually impossible to test young drivers.
"That protects the established drivers, but it is absolutely wrong."
The ban on in-season testing was motivated by a desire to cut costs but by testing the day after a race on Sunday at the some venue, much of the extra expenditure often associated with testing will be eliminated.
"The cars are already there, the people as well. The costs will be kept within limits and we can give young drivers a chance," Ecclestone explained.
In-season testing is currently banned, a decision that has proved very problematic for many teams in terms of car and driver development.
"I am sure that in the future we will test on the Monday after races," Ecclestone told Auto Motor und Sport.
"The failure of the current system is that it is virtually impossible to test young drivers.
"That protects the established drivers, but it is absolutely wrong."
The ban on in-season testing was motivated by a desire to cut costs but by testing the day after a race on Sunday at the some venue, much of the extra expenditure often associated with testing will be eliminated.
"The cars are already there, the people as well. The costs will be kept within limits and we can give young drivers a chance," Ecclestone explained.
As long as they make sure it is only to be used by new drivers and not the regular race drivers, otherwise it'll end up just being testing, instead of being used for driver development.
Seems like a sensible plan. Some concerns may be expressed about the travelling time between circuits being reduced, but as long as there are allowances made in the schedule, there should be no issue.
I presume engines and gearboxes used during this testing phase won't count toward the overall allowance for the year?
Seems like a sensible plan. Some concerns may be expressed about the travelling time between circuits being reduced, but as long as there are allowances made in the schedule, there should be no issue.
I presume engines and gearboxes used during this testing phase won't count toward the overall allowance for the year?
The cars are there, the teams are there.
Correct Bernie, so are the race drivers.
Why don't they have 5 set days throughout the year for testing.
1 at Barcelona before the Spanish GP
1 at Paul Ricard before Monaco (for the twisty layout)
1 at Silverstone before the British GP
1 at Monza before the Belgian/Italian GP (whichever is first.
Another at Paul Ricard before the last 4 races.
This would be a good spread throughout the year. You would solve the teams complaining about the lack of testing.
If the ones at the tracks which were hosting a race were on the tuesday before the race weekend it would cut the costs of travelling there and back. You could even have a parc-ferme for the trucks in the paddock.
Anyway, back to reality...
Correct Bernie, so are the race drivers.
Why don't they have 5 set days throughout the year for testing.
1 at Barcelona before the Spanish GP
1 at Paul Ricard before Monaco (for the twisty layout)
1 at Silverstone before the British GP
1 at Monza before the Belgian/Italian GP (whichever is first.
Another at Paul Ricard before the last 4 races.
This would be a good spread throughout the year. You would solve the teams complaining about the lack of testing.
If the ones at the tracks which were hosting a race were on the tuesday before the race weekend it would cut the costs of travelling there and back. You could even have a parc-ferme for the trucks in the paddock.
Anyway, back to reality...
Nee_Naw said:
As long as they make sure it is only to be used by new drivers and not the regular race drivers, otherwise it'll end up just being testing, instead of being used for driver development.
There's nothing really wrong with having current drivers test, then if a team want to see how a new driver performs, use him for the test.Nee_Naw said:
As long as they make sure it is only to be used by new drivers and not the regular race drivers, otherwise it'll end up just being testing, instead of being used for driver development.
Whats wrong with testing? Why not test if your multi-million pound wind tunnel and CFD are working? Let the more experienced drivers test at tracks they have never driven before?! Testing should be for everyone.Project644 the idea of doing it on the Monday is to stop the teams having the cars so dialed in by Sunday that we have a total yawn-fest on Sunday.
To which of course they argue that the track is too rubbered in by Monday but I'm sure Bridgestone could wash it with a water truck overnight or something.
It would feel weird rocking up at Silverstone (or Donington?) while everyone's leaving
To which of course they argue that the track is too rubbered in by Monday but I'm sure Bridgestone could wash it with a water truck overnight or something.
It would feel weird rocking up at Silverstone (or Donington?) while everyone's leaving
i dont understand the ban on testing. it just doesnt make sense to me. surely testing should be allowed for a number of reasons - trying out new drivers, trying out new components, testing the tyres etc etc.
to ban all testing is, i think, counter-productive.
apart from the above it gives the fans - do you remember how important we are bernie, max - the chance to see gp cars being driven away from the constraints of a grand prix weekend.
how many of us have been to the tyre tests at silverstone in the past & had an enjoyable couple of days just watching the cars being given some stick without worrying about screwing someone elses quick qualifyin lap?
i recall, many years ago, going to the donington museum & being told that williams, lotus & mclaren were out with their current cars having some fun whilst using the excuse of 'tyre testing'. i got trackside & was able to watch senna, mansell, prost, rosberg & a number of other drivers driving their gp cars for fun.
happy days which, sadly, are long gone from f1 now.
to ban all testing is, i think, counter-productive.
apart from the above it gives the fans - do you remember how important we are bernie, max - the chance to see gp cars being driven away from the constraints of a grand prix weekend.
how many of us have been to the tyre tests at silverstone in the past & had an enjoyable couple of days just watching the cars being given some stick without worrying about screwing someone elses quick qualifyin lap?
i recall, many years ago, going to the donington museum & being told that williams, lotus & mclaren were out with their current cars having some fun whilst using the excuse of 'tyre testing'. i got trackside & was able to watch senna, mansell, prost, rosberg & a number of other drivers driving their gp cars for fun.
happy days which, sadly, are long gone from f1 now.
Jungles said:
Why not reserve FP1 for testing by 3rd/4th drivers only? The tracks are usually not rubbered-in enough for good data in FP1 anyway. Then the regular drivers can take to the track in FP2 and 3.
What's the point then, it's just the same as we have it now. The point of this is to get testing outside of race weekends so the teams can test however and whatever they want, not how the FIA says they have to test.I guess adding it on the front raises all sorts of issues about setup for the GP, but more importantly how would they police the engine/box restrictions.
I guess if they test on Monday then T-cars and de-regulated engines could be wheeled out, so I'm not sure the 'everything is there' will be absolutely correct.
Greater engine/box allocation to allow for testing and having it ahead of the GP would still be my preference, and spare cars BTW. Lets also not overlook that Sunday parties would be diminished if the teams had testing om Monday
I guess if they test on Monday then T-cars and de-regulated engines could be wheeled out, so I'm not sure the 'everything is there' will be absolutely correct.
Greater engine/box allocation to allow for testing and having it ahead of the GP would still be my preference, and spare cars BTW. Lets also not overlook that Sunday parties would be diminished if the teams had testing om Monday
zac510 said:
Project644 the idea of doing it on the Monday is to stop the teams having the cars so dialed in by Sunday that we have a total yawn-fest on Sunday.
i don't see how it makes a difference. if the cars aren't dialled in then they can't drive to their best and you'll still get a yawn fest. hasn't helped us this year has it... personally i think they should have 'test' engines and tyres, seperate to race allocations, and should run on thursdays, giving the hardcore thursday fans something to watch.Actually a good suggestion from Mr E. there for a change. There is a lot of logic to this, and the costs could be quite low, maybe limiting each car to two or three test engines per season to ensure there is a cap of some sort. Monday is the best day as it would not give any direct track advantage to those teams who could afford to pound round all day over those with a more limited budget. It would also allow the tracks involved to increase their income to meet CVC hosting fees.
Sounds like a good idea to me, use old Engines and any left over tyres, give the test drivers and young drivers something to do im pretty sure after a full race on the Sunday the main two won't be interested in doing a full days testing on the Monday. And give any spectators left after the races something to do before going home.
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