Frederic Vasseur explains why in-season F1 testing can’t happen in current times, as he adds about the sprint weekend changes.
F1 is far from the days of continuous in-season testings where mostly the big teams ran for days and hours to improve their machine. As the modern era begun, the in-season testing days curtailed to the extent where you hardly see anything these days.
Only Pirelli get their test days with the F1 teams and the usual shakedown and filming runs are permitted. There are test days but mostly using the old cars for youngsters to get them mileage and reward them for their success in the junior championships.
Ferrari F1 chief Vasseur is kind of okay with the current limitations to in-season testing as with the cost cap and calendar situation, it is anyhow very difficult to give anymore time. “If you stay with the current budget cap, it would be more than difficult to reintroduce tests, because the cost of the test is mega,” he said.
“If you start to do the testing, you will have to produce two times as many engines, have tons of mileage – in one test day you are doing the mileage of a [grand prix] weekend, and that means if you do 20 test days, it is another season in terms of parts. But it was true for us [in 2023] that when you are struggling, the fact that you have no test days at all, it is very difficult to come back – and it is also very difficult to come back when the correlation between the simulator, wind-tunnel and the track is not always mega.
“With the cost cap, I think it is impossible to reintroduce the testing – we could discuss about one or two sessions, but don’t forget that in parallel, we have the Pirelli test days, and we are doing a lot for Pirelli. When you have a look on the calendar, it is not just about the races, we have three or four sessions for Pirelli test days, and when you have to find a slot for the Pirelli tests, you say: ‘It’s already a lot’.” summed up Vasseur.
The calendar also has the sprint weekends which adds more pressure with another set of mini-races where there is certainly physical and mental exertion. There will be changes to those weekends, especially on the parc ferme side after issues seen in 2023.
And Vasseur things the potential changes is the right way after Ferrari also saw a disqualification. “I can say that I’m very happy to block the Parc Ferme when were disqualified in Austin,” he told said. “The issue is that you have only FP1 to do the setup of the car, for the cooling, for ride height.
“Sometimes in the FP1 if you have a small issue or even if the drivers are not taking the line they will take later into the weekend, it’s very difficult and you are blind. It’s a good one to open Parc Ferme, but perhaps we can discuss about which parameter will be open. But at least for cooling and ride heights and so, it’s the right decision to do it.”
Here’s F1 2023 teams’ tier order: https://formularapida.net/f1-2023-teams-categorised-in-tier-system-for-their-performances/
Here’s F1 2023 drivers’ tier order: https://formularapida.net/f1-2023-drivers-categorised-in-tier-system-for-their-performances/
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