According to an article on autosport.com (and in this week’s Autosport) the testing agreement is looking unlikely to survive for next year. This is because Ferrari refuses to discuss a limit based on days, but only mileage (this suits them as they own their test tracks, for everyone else a day limit is the only option that makes any sense).
Without unanimity the accord is dead in the water.
News of the problems with the testing accord comes on the back of Ferrari, Honda Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso confirming to autosport.com that they will accept an invite from the Bahrain organisers to attend a test there in the middle of February.
The Bahrain test has highlighted the fact that teams no longer feel restricted in sticking to the terms of previous agreements, which included a ban on tests outside of Europe to keep costs down.
None of the other teams are breaking the agreement. However it’s not all bad; Nick Fry explains:
“The irony of the situation is that most teams have improved their testing efficiency so much that even with no agreement it’s unlikely that we would do appreciably more than 30 days,” he explained.
Linksheaven forum discussion.
January 18th, 2006
This is an interesting site to keep an eye on - certainly an interesting premise.
From their “about” page:
The path to Formula 1, the pinnacle of motorsport is an arduous journey. Only the right combination of talent, team, contacts and sponsorship ensure a continuous progress from karts, then on to the lower formulae and onwards to Formula 3, GP2 or perhaps Champ cars/Indy cars and then F1. F1 Prospects.com tracks the drivers making this journey. No matter where in the world a young driver straps themselves into the cockpit of a formula racing car, F1 Prospects.com will be there charting their journey. Combining a lively mixture of analysis, stats and news from racing series around the globe, F1 Prospects.com looks beyond the press releases to see who really has what it takes to make the grand prix grade. F1 Prospects.com strives to be a rich information source for serious motorsport fans, drivers, team personnel and sponsors. If you are a team or a driver, let us know about you and send us your press releases and media kits. If you are a serious motorsports fan, comment on the articles directly from the site or better yet, enquire on how you can become part of F1 Prospects.Com and begin covering the world’s leading junior motorsports formulae as a writer, photographer, statistician or web guru. F1 Prospects.com, tracking the future drivers of Formula 1 today.
January 18th, 2006
A couple of sources are reporting that Max Biaggi (MotoGP star) will be testing a Midland F1 car in the near future. Sadly, at 34 I don’t think we’re likely to see Biaggi and Rossi fighting it out on the F1 track in the near future.
F1 Racing
Forum
January 18th, 2006
