2010/2011 winter testing

[WhiteBlue]

http://www.f1.co.uk/read-news/659/testi ... se-in-2011?

It looks like we are going to see two tests in Abu Dhabi in 2010 and three tests in Spain in February/March 2011. The fourth and last 2011 winter test should be in Bahrain probably just before the race in March 2011.

It looks like in season testing restrictions in 2011 will be similar to those we saw this year. I hope that F1 does not get too complacent with it. There are a number of problems that need to be fixed.

• wet weather tyre restrictions need to be lifted so that meaningfull testing can be carried out
• a dedicated reserve/young driver test should be incorporated in the week end perhaps on those Thurdays when there is no back to back and fly away timing.
• in summer there should be three or four Monday or Thursday test sessions where the respective GP race track is constantly open all day to all teams.

[raymondu999]

Stopped watching 2010 due to Vettel's run of bad luck/races WB? I know I have

[DaveKillens]

I agree WB, this is one area the requires change. Although most times we associate testing with performance improvement, the ability for teams to properly assess tire characteristics and driver training is sadly lacking. Safety can be improved by allowing more testing.

As a fan I feel that I've been cheated out of something important when at the first race of the season we see drivers who have not turned any laps in a Formula One car, and teams that had no idea of how the tires would perform. Everyone should have been allowed to sort out what I consider the basics, so there would be more parity, and everyone would have the potential to run the race in a competitive manner.

[747heavy]

I agree with what has been said so far.
I think, it is still sensible to ban/keep banned, private testing during the season.
But a MotoGP style mid season testing regime, would be a good compromise, without much additional costs. IMHO

Let´s do 3-4 in season tests on the Monday/Thuesday after a GP, all the equipment and personal is there allready, so it just boils down to some extra money for hotels/meals and the fuel/tire costs.
Sure there is some exta wear on components etc., but if you compare this to the millions of dollars spend on simulations/simulators it´s "peanuts" in F1 terms.
And if somebody does not want/need to test, he doesn´t has to.

An extra 45 min test session during Friday for all drivers outside the Top 10 (WDC standing - as used in V8Supercars for example) would be o.k. as well. IMO
Only problem with this is tire allocation IMHO, but maybe it is possible to find a sensible solution for that.

[marcush.]

my view is they should allow for extra testing on the venue in the form of a an extra free practise session allowed for all new teams and teams without points to be unrestricted to give teams a proper chance to improve.An alternative would be testing on monday after the race.
the top three teams are not allowed to run in this session
the rest is allocated number laps inversely corresponding to their showing in the last say two races. the worse you are the more you are allowed to test.

supply of spec tyre on discretion of the tyre supplier (possibly new compounds or development tyres )

[ESPImperium]

I think that is a sensible plan for testing for 2010 and 2011, and should be carried on for following seasons, and it should follow the model of this:

* The Tuesday after the last race, regaurdless of track, there should be a 3 day test where teams can test out rough ideas for the following season.
* The last week in November should see a 4 day test in Jerez for young drivers.
* Teams with less than 2 full seasons experience should get an extra 3 test days in the first 6 GP of any season after a race.
* Pre Season tests should take place at 4 tracks, 3 in Europe and one in either Bahrain or Abu Dhabi to avoid the wet wether chaos we had this season.
* Teams with a points finish in the constructors title shouls only be granted 15 days testing total, with three test days allowance with 2 cars.
* Teams that failed to post any points in the Constructors title should be allowed to use 2 cars for the final three tests.
* Drivers are only limited to take part in a maximum of 7 full days testing for each team, meaning test drivers will get a chance to drive the new cars.
* The final test is where there will be a FIA scruteenering test take place for all constructors. Thus giving a right to protest before the season starts.
* In season shall take place at 4 pre determined Europen venues on a Monday after those GPs, No race drivers that have taken part in that years championships will be allowed to test in season.
* Extra engines will be allocated for such testing.
* And on engines, any team that hasnt taken a win in the past 2 seasons (Including any previous guise EG Brawn > Mercedes) will be allocated 10 engines for the season, taking the MOTO GP Suzuki situation into F1.
* Every race driver shall give up his FP1 seat for a young development driver for 6 races each season, with exeption of the first 4 GP and last 4 GP of every season.

I think if some, most or all of that was implemented, F1 would be a much more closer sport, and the new teams wouldnt be as far behind as they currently are.

[Dukeage]

A while ago I posted a whole rewritten article of the rules about how to run the testing sessions, but I don't have access to that now. It was something like this

[*]Two four day and one three day test pre-season - I'm suggesting Barcelona, Mugello and Jerez. Some mandatory running for test drivers.
[*]Two two day tests for third drivers during the season - I'm suggesting Paul Ricard and somewhere else.
[*]One three day young driver test after the last race.
[*]With the exception of the young driver test, no tests at venues that hosts GPs.
[*]Most rules apply to tests, including scrutineers and car covering.
[*]Free practice type level of press accessibility. This isn't necessarily a rules issue, but possibly some form of primitive picture feed.

[mach11]

i hope next year the new teams can coverup some ground so that they are competitive with the front runners....

but with the no diffuser rule in place.... i think it might even up the competition a little bit.....

[raymondu999]

by rule of diminishing/decreasing returns, they will. They're just so slow/unoptimised that they'll be able to pile on seconds quickly, much quicker than the already-stellar Red Bull.

[marcush.]

as far as i understand the small teams do not really want additional testing days simply because of the huge cost involved.
It would be a lot more sensible to extend running in the weekend.

[mx_tifoso]

...
As a fan I feel that I've been cheated out of something important when at the first race of the season we see drivers who have not turned any laps in a Formula One car, and teams that had no idea of how the tires would perform. Everyone should have been allowed to sort out what I consider the basics, so there would be more parity, and everyone would have the potential to run the race in a competitive manner.

That's a good way of seeing things. There's no point in having a dozen teams if a quarter of them are many seconds slower than the rest and have no chance to score points. It's practically a wild goose hunt for them. A race shouldn't be about hoping to finish, but about at least getting points if not getting podiums/wins.

And I think that increased testing would help. And even though I've previously argued against special testing privileges for new teams, they just might deserve one or two sessions after a GP, providing that they even agree or can afford them.

At this level we shouldn't even accept the level of competitiveness demonstrated by the new teams and even some experienced ones. This is the top of the food chain and we deserve to see everyone with a chance to at least be in the top half of every race.

I would like to see an F1 competition license that can be revoked within a few seasons if the position is not improved upon by 2-3 places after their debut. But that idea would be better fit for another thread.

[djos]

I'd like to see tire allocations (wet and dry) increased by 50% for Fridays and run 3 Practice sessions with 1 for test drivers only (no full-time F1 Drivers allowed).

As part of this I'd allow teams to bring a 3rd car for the test drivers so they don't risk binning full-time drivers car. Currently most teams have all the bits to build a 3rd car so they might as well take it assembled and save themselves some work!

[WhiteBlue]

The timetable on Friday is fully loaded at some GPs like Monza. In addition to F1 you have the Porsche Supercup, GP2, GP3 and F BMW races. I reckon that most races have long time contractual rights to take place together with F1. So you would have to use Thursday or Monday after the race for additional testing. It should also not happen at every GP. Four times in the European season would be enough.

[vall]

The timetable on Friday is fully loaded at some GPs like Monza. In addition to F1 you have the Porsche Supercup, GP2, GP3 and F BMW races. I reckon that most races have long time contractual rights to take place together with F1. So you would have to use Thursday or Monday after the race for additional testing. It should also not happen at every GP. Four times in the European season would be enough.

I also think Mondays are the best time. I would suggest the 3 (full) Mondays of the last 3 races before the summer brake. Also, the 3rd/young drivers should drive. The regular race drivers should not test for more than half a day.

[djos]

The timetable on Friday is fully loaded at some GPs like Monza. In addition to F1 you have the Porsche Supercup, GP2, GP3 and F BMW races. I reckon that most races have long time contractual rights to take place together with F1. So you would have to use Thursday or Monday after the race for additional testing. It should also not happen at every GP. Four times in the European season would be enough.

Good point, Thursday's would be awesome as some GP's (eg Aus GP) have a Thursday program and to have the F1 cars running on all 4 days would be great!