F1 Madness

Tag: tyre testing

  • Pirelli – Full statement over Mercedes tyre test

    Pirelli statement on Mercedes F1 tyre testPirelli also issued a statement today about the three day test carried out in Barcelona with the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team.

    Here is the full statement:

    Milan, 31 May 2013 – Pirelli, in development testing with teams carried out in 2013, has not favoured any teams and, as always, acted professionally, with transparency and in absolute good faith. The tyres used were not from the current championship but belonged to a range of products still being developed in view of an eventual renewal of the supply contract. Further, none of the tests were carried for the purpose of enhancing specific cars, but only to test tyre solutions for future championships. The use of the car utilized by Mercedes, in particular, was the result of direct communication between FIA and the team itself. Pirelli did not ask in any way that a 2013 car be used: not of Mercedes nor Fia nor the teams which, during the year, were offered the opportunity of participating in tests for the development of tyres for 2014. The tyres that will be tested by the teams in the free practice at the Montreal Grand Prix have never been used by the teams before. With regard to the new tyres, the problem of delamination has been solved by Pirelli’s technicians exclusively through laboratory testing. Delamination, which only occurred on four occasions and always because of on-track detritus, has never put the drivers’ safety at risk, but does risk harming Pirelli’s image. This is why the company decided to intervene.

    With regard to the rules which govern its conduct, the company has always respected the contractual limits which bind it to the FIA, teams and championship’s organizers, and has always respected the principles of sporting loyalty.

    Pirelli, however, feels the need to reaffirm the indisputable need to carry out tests for the development of tyres which are adequate and regulated by rules which are clear and shared by all the interested parties. The company confirms its availability, as communicated to the teams many times in the past, to organize tests for the development of tyres for 2014 with all the teams in the championship.

    PIRELLI’S ANSWERS TO FIA

    With regard to requests for information received from FIA, Pirelli promptly provided the answers needed to clarify what happened at the tests, as far as its own responsibilities went.

    DEVELOPMENT TESTS FOR 2014 TYRES WERE OFFERED TO ALL: NO FAVOURTISM

    The tests were conducted in observance of the contract between Pirelli and FIA, which gives the supplier the possibility of carrying out tests for the development of tyres with each team of up to 1,000 kilometres, without specifying the type of car to be used, nor sanctioning the simultaneous presence of all the teams for the running of the tests. In this regard, Pirelli has since 2010 made it clear that it is neither possible nor useful to carry out this type of test with all the teams simultaneously. In fact, this type of testing aimed at technological development and researching new solutions, involves many tyres of different types which must be tested with a single car at a time. Testing for championship specifications is different, as occurs in winter testing which require the participation of all the teams, so as to find the most satisfying solutions for all the cars in the competition. For this reason, Pirelli insists on the need for winter testing under conditions which are truly representative of the situations which will be met during the championship.

    Already in March 2012, Pirelli sent an email to all the teams, FIA and FOM, inviting the teams to indicate their availability for testing for the development of tyres for 2013. Further, the company explained that it was necessary to conduct the tests with the teams’ cars because it did not have a suitable one of its own (Pirelli has the use of an adapted 2010 Renault and, before that, a 2009 Toyota).

    The invitation was subsequently repeated in various official contexts and repeated to some teams last March for the development of tyres for 2014.

    THE TEST CONDUCTED IN BARCELONA WAS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF TYRES FOR 2014 AND NOT FOR THE MODIFICATION OF 2013 SPECIFICATIONS

    This test, as always, carried out with a single compound never used in a championship, regarded structures not in use in the current season and not destined to be used later during the 2013 season. The tyre tests were conducted “in the dark”, which means that the teams had no information on which specifications were being tested or about the goal of the testing; nor did they receive any type of information afterwards.

  • FIA calls Mercedes and Ferrari F1 teams for further investigation into tyre testing

    Mercedes and Ferrari have been called by the FIA to participate in the investigation into tyre testingAccording to a statement released by the FIA this evening, the Mercedes and Ferrari F1 teams have been called to supply further information for a disciplinary inquiry over the recent “secret” Pirelli F1 tyre test that took place in Barcelona.

    The recent uproar was initially focused around the secret Pirelli test carried out by Mercedes after the news broke during the Monaco Grand Prix weekend.

    Ferrari and Red Bull Racing lodged a protest against Mercedes using their current 2013 car in the test at Barcelona immediately after the Spanish Grand Prix. The stewards then referred the matter to the FIA.

    It has since emerged that the Corse Clienti, Ferrari’s customer car division provided a 2011 car for a Pirelli tyre test two weeks before the Mercedes test took place.

    This evening, the FIA issued a statement saying that the Formula One Governing Body wanted both Mercedes and Ferrari to participate in the investigation surrounding the tyre testing.

    Their statement read as follows:

    “The FIA has asked Team Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 and Scuderia Ferrari Team which have taken part in tyre tests in the 2013 season to reply to a disciplinary inquiry in pursuance of the FIA Judicial and Disciplinary Rules,” said the statement.

    “This follows the Stewards’ Report from the Monaco Grand Prix and represents supplementary information required by the FIA in the light of the replies received from Pirelli, who were asked for clarifications on Tuesday May 28.”

    It was previously believed that running the tyre tests with a 2011 car was within the rules but it now seems that this could be doubt as it could be argued that the 2011 car is not “substantially different” from the 2013 car as is required by Article 22.1 of the F1 sporting regulations.