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Mercedes warned in 2012 there was no scope for F1 in-season testing

"Pirelli is entitled under the terms of their agreement with the FIA to offer teams 1000km of tyre testing, subject to each team being treated equally," said the email.

"However there are no provisions within the Sporting Regulations for such testing to take place in-season.

"[FOTA has] spoken with Charlie [Whiting] to confirm the process going forward, and there are two options: 1. ALL teams want to take up Pirelli's offer and this is communicated to the FIA who will amend the Sporting Regulations; or 2. The test takes place out of season (and then the testing agreement comes into play)."
 
BrightLampShade said:
I've also noticed Red Bull have changed their tune a little to try and shift the blame squarely onto Mercedes and say Pirelli aren't at fault as its a breach in sporting regs and therefore down to the team. He may have a point but given the unknown about the FIA approval which may save Mercedes bacon, who gets the blame then?
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It doesn't help RBR if Pirelli get the brunt of any punishment so perhaps a little cynical on horners part. From what has been said, written etc, I would say the fault lies with Pirelli and Merc just took advantage of it.

On a side note, did anyone else notice Paul Hembreys response to what was being tested at Barcelona? His answer was "tyres" and the interview appeared to be cut short. I can see how his answer may of been interpreted as sarcasm but it could equally of been a more sinister attempt to be vague.
 
BrightLampShade said:
Mercedes warned in 2012 there was no scope for F1 in-season testing

"Pirelli is entitled under the terms of their agreement with the FIA to offer teams 1000km of tyre testing, subject to each team being treated equally," said the email.

"However there are no provisions within the Sporting Regulations for such testing to take place in-season.

"[FOTA has] spoken with Charlie [Whiting] to confirm the process going forward, and there are two options: 1. ALL teams want to take up Pirelli's offer and this is communicated to the FIA who will amend the Sporting Regulations; or 2. The test takes place out of season (and then the testing agreement comes into play)."
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Very interesting things coming out now. This could kick off in a big way. Surely Merc can't shift all the blame onto Pirelli now?
 
http://www1.skysports.com/formula-1...questions-from-Mercedes-Pirelli-s-secret-test

Could Lewis Hamilton or Nico Rosberg have taken part?
Hamilton has been quoted as telling reporters on Sunday night: "We were required to do some work and we did and it was good fun." It is an established fact the test took place between Wednesday May 15 and Friday May 17 - the week immediately after the Spanish GP - and Hamilton flew to America on the Monday. It is possible that he then flew back to Barcelona to take part on either the Thursday and/or the Friday - the test was extended to a third day due to rain.
 
AbsolutelyGlorious said:
http://www1.skysports.com/formula-1...questions-from-Mercedes-Pirelli-s-secret-test

Could Lewis Hamilton or Nico Rosberg have taken part?
Hamilton has been quoted as telling reporters on Sunday night: "We were required to do some work and we did and it was good fun." It is an established fact the test took place between Wednesday May 15 and Friday May 17 - the week immediately after the Spanish GP - and Hamilton flew to America on the Monday. It is possible that he then flew back to Barcelona to take part on either the Thursday and/or the Friday - the test was extended to a third day due to rain.
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I thought it was Monday-Wednesday? Wed-Fri changes things, although it would be a bit odd to fly to Florida and then come back again in a matter of days for a test?
 
BrightLampShade said:
I thought it was Monday-Wednesday? Wed-Fri changes things, although it would be a bit odd to fly to Florida and then come back again in a matter of days for a test?
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Was Nicole at Barcelona or did he have to fly back to the US to get any?

She must be good........
 
This is shocking:

James Allen said:
The tyres tested in Spain were a mixture of development products; some solutions for Montreal addressing the delamination problems, some ideas for 2014.

Pirelli says that they did not tell Mercedes what tyres they were testing, so they had no reference points. However some rival teams told this website that they know that Mercedes made changes in their approach to the tyres this weekend in Monaco, in areas like the suspension, for example, which showed that they had learned from the 1,000kms test.

Although Monaco would not really show up gains very clearly, as it is the most gentle track of the season on tyres and Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg set a very slow pace in the race to manage the tyres, we are likely to be able to see in Canada and especially Silverstone how much Mercedes learned from the test – equivalent to more than three Grand Prix distances – from how much their tyre wear in races has improved as a result.
http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2013/05/what-was-behind-mercedes-and-pirelli-secret-f1-tyre-test/
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Absolutely ridiculous that Pirelli would do something like this. I'm a huge fan of Pirelli's tyres but they surely can't continue next year after doing this. And shame on Mercedes for going along with it.
 
Bearing in mind Mercedes haven;t built a car in more than 3 years that can look after its tyres, the data from the test would pale into insignificance when compared to race data and the sheer amount of pre-season testing they have done.

This does not excuse either Pirelli or Merc, I think some peeps are over-exaggerating the effect this 'test' will have on Mercedes 2013 form. The car, like earlier years, is flawed in its use of tyres and it just can;t be down to set-up as why haven;t they worked out since 2010 that it just needs a tweak on set-up?

What FIA choose to do about this will be looked at closely, but I fear this may now signal the end of Pirelli in F1. Bearing in mind the bad publicity tyres now have in F1, who would take their place and is their realistically enough time, or will the shock of a new supplier with no reference points for the teams to design their cars around really shake up 2014 form book?
 
Have Ferrari implicated themselves in the Tyre Testing row too? ]

Ferrari have reportedly conducted a similar test after Bahrain (Although the circuit it was conducted at also remains a mystery) Ferrari however made their 2011 challenger (F150) available to Pirelli to conduct the test. This is also unacceptable from a Sporting Regulations standpoint with 2013,2012 and 2011 cars unable to be tested outside of the test regulations (as I read it).

[Track testing shall be considered any track running time not part of an Event undertaken by a competitor entered in the Championship, using cars which conform substantially with the current Formula One Technical Regulations in addition to those from the previous or subsequent year.]

Others are however reporting a 2011 car would be acceptable, the way I read it: previous = 2012 and subsequent = 2011. Otherwise why not just put, current and the preceding years car. (I stand corrected if I'm wrong #Syntax, but I'm sure a good lawyer could argue it from either side)
 
Maybe Hamilton (and Rosberg) were at the test, in which case it must have been Wed-Fri after the GP:

When asked about if he had any fears about what might happen over the testing controversy, Hamilton said: "I'm not concerned about it, that's for the team to worry about.

"I just have to focus on myself and try and get my act together."

"[The test] is for you guys to speak to Pirelli about. We were required to do some work, we did some work. It was good fun."

Hamilton focused on his own pace, not Mercedes test scandal
 
Turning a little away from the controversy,

Analysis: How Pirelli Montreal change will handicap ‘tyre-swapping’ teams

An interesting twist to the Pirelli testing saga has emerged, and it throws a little more light on what Mercedes might or might not have done at Barcelona.

This blog can reveal that since the start of the season some teams have routinely being swapping the left and right rear tyres, having discovered – in some cases as early as winter testing – that they found an overall performance advantage by doing so.

The 2013 steel belt tyres are ‘handed,’ meaning that they are marked left and right and are intended by Pirelli to be used on that side of the car....

Intriguingly sources have told this blog that in Monaco Mercedes used the swapping technique for the first time – or at least it was the first time that it was spotted by keen-eyed observers.

It would thus be very easy to speculate that Mercedes took the opportunity of the Barcelona test to try swapping the rears around....

However, Kevlar belted tyres are not ‘handed’ meaning they are identical on both sides – in other words there is no point in swapping them around.

And that means the teams that have been routinely swapping will lose the advantage they currently have, and that in turn explains why they a) they are now fighting with Pirelli and the FIA over the planned change and b) why those teams who have not been able to make tyre swapping work, or have general tyre issues, are only too happy for it to go through…
 
BrightLampShade said:
Turning a little away from the controversy,

Analysis: How Pirelli Montreal change will handicap ‘tyre-swapping’ teams

An interesting twist to the Pirelli testing saga has emerged, and it throws a little more light on what Mercedes might or might not have done at Barcelona.

This blog can reveal that since the start of the season some teams have routinely being swapping the left and right rear tyres, having discovered – in some cases as early as winter testing – that they found an overall performance advantage by doing so.

The 2013 steel belt tyres are ‘handed,’ meaning that they are marked left and right and are intended by Pirelli to be used on that side of the car....

Intriguingly sources have told this blog that in Monaco Mercedes used the swapping technique for the first time – or at least it was the first time that it was spotted by keen-eyed observers.

It would thus be very easy to speculate that Mercedes took the opportunity of the Barcelona test to try swapping the rears around....

However, Kevlar belted tyres are not ‘handed’ meaning they are identical on both sides – in other words there is no point in swapping them around.

And that means the teams that have been routinely swapping will lose the advantage they currently have, and that in turn explains why they a) they are now fighting with Pirelli and the FIA over the planned change and b) why those teams who have not been able to make tyre swapping work, or have general tyre issues, are only too happy for it to go through…
Click to expand...

OK, as someone with no technical knowledge, am i right in saying that they've simply just swapped the tyres around? The lefts on the right, and the rights on the left.
 
I'm Batman said:
OK, as someone with no technical knowledge, am i right in saying that they've simply just swapped the tyres around? The lefts on the right, and the rights on the left.
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Yeah, the tyres aren't symmetrical apparently. Probably in terms of rigidity since they're slicks so the tread isn't one directional.
Its probably only a tiny difference but it seems it makes a difference to some teams <confused>
 
BrightLampShade said:
Yeah, the tyres aren't symmetrical apparently. Probably in terms of rigidity since they're slicks so the tread isn't one directional.
Its probably only a tiny difference but it seems it makes a difference to some teams
Click to expand...

Do you know which teams were doing it?
 
BrightLampShade said:
Turning a little away from the controversy,

Analysis: How Pirelli Montreal change will handicap ‘tyre-swapping’ teams

An interesting twist to the Pirelli testing saga has emerged, and it throws a little more light on what Mercedes might or might not have done at Barcelona.

This blog can reveal that since the start of the season some teams have routinely being swapping the left and right rear tyres, having discovered – in some cases as early as winter testing – that they found an overall performance advantage by doing so.

The 2013 steel belt tyres are ‘handed,’ meaning that they are marked left and right and are intended by Pirelli to be used on that side of the car....

Intriguingly sources have told this blog that in Monaco Mercedes used the swapping technique for the first time – or at least it was the first time that it was spotted by keen-eyed observers.

It would thus be very easy to speculate that Mercedes took the opportunity of the Barcelona test to try swapping the rears around....

However, Kevlar belted tyres are not ‘handed’ meaning they are identical on both sides – in other words there is no point in swapping them around.

And that means the teams that have been routinely swapping will lose the advantage they currently have, and that in turn explains why they a) they are now fighting with Pirelli and the FIA over the planned change and b) why those teams who have not been able to make tyre swapping work, or have general tyre issues, are only too happy for it to go through…
Click to expand...

It wont end well for Mercedes will it?
 
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