Testing Needed in F1 - Di Montezemolo

[VIVA GT]

I also like the idea of Monday after the race testing when there's a bigger break between GP's.
As the race on that track has already been run, there would be no advantage to gain from the test (for this year anyway), the teams, cars & drivers would already be there, so the cost implications are lower, plus, the weather conditions should be similar to the past few days of running, so any data collected before the test would also still be relevant.

[bella]

Originally Posted by spider

Testing at Silverstone used to be fantastic - in particular when the cars sounded better in the V10 era. Could get ridiculous levels of access - and for the price of £0 I'd have a far far better experience than paying £300 for a GP grandstand seat. Far better.

seconded, it was absolutely superb. i think too many people knew about it at the end, when they started to charge a fee to get in. i miss the hardy band of regulars too! they were good people.

[Spritle]

Bring it on I say, the more the merrier!

Cost cutting in F1 is a total joke anyway, new regs every season, DRS, KERS in, KERS out, a major engine formula change in 2014, a ban here, a ban there; new venues halfway around the world, more races, increased entry fees...yea that saves a ton of cash.

Oh yea, the environmental impact... I wonder which is worse, multiple chartered and commercial jet airplanes flying further & further more frequently carrying teams and gear...

...or a few cars doing a few hundred of extra laps each year....extra laps you will end up with anyway by virtue of new races being added every year to the schedule.

Although it only seems to bother fans when it isn't their team; team dominance comes and goes based on many factors. It is only an illusion that it is a major factor. Heck even Renault managed to somehow break Ferrari's string back when testing was almost a free for all.

I say the teams should be allowed to practice as much as they want; restriction is a ridiculous way to try and level the playing field or limit costs. It's as crazy as limiting how much time a professional footballer can train or a concert musician can practice. I can tell you this much, for most of us, no amount of practice will ever put us in that league.

The same goes for F1 teams; it's a lot more than time on the track...

[P38 in workshop]

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

I also like the idea of Monday after the race testing when there's a bigger break between GP's.
As the race on that track has already been run, there would be no advantage to gain from the test (for this year anyway), the teams, cars & drivers would already be there, so the cost implications are lower, plus, the weather conditions should be similar to the past few days of running, so any data collected before the test would also still be relevant.

Superficially this seems like a good idea.The reality is that the race cars may well have any number of out of life components and there won't have been time to rebuild them.I totally agree with the idea of using the personnel present and the circuit at a race weekend as it would keep costs down-more detail needed.Going back to the days of Ferrari pounding round Fiorano 362 days each year is unrealistic and LdM needs to get used to the idea.

[wnut]

Originally Posted by spider

Testing at Silverstone used to be fantastic - in particular when the cars sounded better in the V10 era. Could get ridiculous levels of access - and for the price of £0 I'd have a far far better experience than paying £300 for a GP grandstand seat. Far better.

Thirded!

As Bella said, attended by a better class of people too!

[Marbot]

Cancel all of the races, and just watch testing!

Testing can be easy for some, and hard for others. Such as Force India, and Ferrari are a stones throw away from one of their test facilities, and such as Sauber are miles away. So, just on logistics alone, it can be more costly for some than for others. How would you go about ironing that problem out? Or maybe you wouldn't?

[Knowlesy]

The problem could be averted by not starting teams in motorsport backwaters.

"Sorry guys, we'll have to knock this testing lark on the head. Johnny is setting up his team in Mozambique."

[yesnomaybe]

sorry a bit off topic, i fancy seeing some current F1 cars on track in 2013 (for not a lot of money) is there a young driver test planned for Silverstone?

[Marbot]

Originally Posted by yesnomaybe

sorry a bit off topic, i fancy seeing some current F1 cars on track in 2013 (for not a lot of money) is there a young driver test planned for Silverstone?

I believe that there was a test (2 days) scheduled for the 12th July, but it seems to be a bit 'up in the air' at the moment. Chances are that it will be in Abu Dhabi.

now.http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpa...s_art_id=47922

For a few quid, you could go watch a weeks worth of F1 testing in just a few weeks time, and make a holiday of it (Barcelona 19th Feb or 28 Feb).

[Marbot]

Originally Posted by Knowlesy

The problem could be averted by not starting teams in motorsport backwaters.

"Sorry guys, we'll have to knock this testing lark on the head. Johnny is setting up his team in Mozambique."

I suppose that it would be best for Ferrari, STR, and Sauber to set up in Milton Keynes, and then we can have all of the testing at Silverstone?

[TrapezeArtist]

Luca di Gorgonzola's prognostications on what would be good for F1 invariably look like what would be good for Ferrari.

Nevertheless I do think that a little in-season testing would be a good idea. Running a Monday test after a GP is the obvious way of doing it without using up ridiculous amounts of resource in travelling and setting-up. Perhaps 3 or 4 times per year.

There is no doubt that the lack of testing has contributed to the unpredictability of some races. On the other hand it would be nice to provide a little testing now and then to help out any teams that have completely lost their way.