FIA intervenes to prevent March 5 testing

A further change of plan for the final test session prior to departure for Australia. Based on a new clarification of Article 22.4 of the Sporting Regulations, which was sent to the teams late yesterday evening, it is no longer possible to run on Monday 5 March.

As a result, the test schedule for Scuderia Ferrari and Red Bull Racing, who had originally decided to follow this option now reverts to that of the majority, running from Thursday 1 March to Sunday 4 March.

Both Ferrari and Red Bull Racing were aiming to test from Friday to Monday, rather than the original schedule of Thursday to Sunday. Both teams believed they could do so following a different interpretation of paragraph 22.4 of the sporting regulations.

Both teams will also rotate their drivers, with Massa starting on Thursday for Ferrari, while at Red Bull Mark Webber will be the first in the car.

The FIA intervention also means that Lotus will be unable to do a 5-day test as of March 1 in an attempt to recover some of its lost time due to abandoning the first Barcelona test due to suspension problems.