FIA Investigates Ferrari Over Testing Claims

[OverTake.gg]

Ferrari are the latest Formula One team to be dragged into the Pirelli tyre 'test-gate' row which escalated at last weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix.

Mercedes are under investigation by the FIA after it was discovered they had taken part in a three-day testing session with Pirelli following the Spanish Grand Prix this year.

And despite Ferrari joining Red Bull in leading the protests against Mercedes, the Italian manufacturer has now been dragged into the controversy, having themselves allegedly been part of a test with Pirelli between the Bahrain and Spanish Grand Prix.

The Italian team are now also facing disciplinary action, pending an FIA investigation, although they do not believe they breached any rules having used a two-year-old car during the tests, unlike Mercedes who are thought to have used this year’s model.

‘The FIA has asked Team Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 and Scuderia Ferrari Team which have taken part in tyre tests in the 2013 season to reply to a disciplinary inquiry in pursuance of the FIA Judicial and Disciplinary Rules. This follows the Stewards’ Report from the Monaco Grand Prix and represents supplementary information required by the FIA in the light of the replies received from Pirelli, who were asked for clarifications on Tuesday May 28th.’ said a statement on the FIA website.

Mercedes claimed their first race victory of the season last Sunday at the Monte Carlo Grand Prix, as Nico Rosberg won from pole position. But the success was tainted as the team became embroiled in the tyre testing storm.

Pirelli’s tyres have been the source of much debate already this season and the latest episode involving Ferrari is another fiasco that won’t be welcomed to there expiring contract in F1.

Image: TurboSquid

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[Graham Laing]

Nice one Dan. The words pot, kettle, and black come to mind

 

[Scrambles]

When I was a kid, Formula One used to be about racing around a track every fortnight.....now it's all about bureaucracy, inquiries, team orders, legal challenges, tires, contracts, pathetic journalists making speculations that the general public are gullible enough to believe.....yes I know I sound like a grumpy old man wearing a pair of rose-tinted glasses

In my day the word 6th was spelled 'sixth' not 'sik'. Damn these wrinkles...and damn the fact I can't get it up anymore arrrgggghhhhhhhhhhhh

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

Isn't bending the rules from all times Simon?

Which team was it again that added small metal balls to the fuel during the last pitstop so the car reached the minimum weight at the post race check. Somewhere in the 70s/80s.

Personally I hope F1 gets rid of all those silly rules. Let the teams do whatever they want (for any costs they prefer) and come up with some fabulous innovative creations. I liked the unfair advantage that technology gave to the sport

 

[Scrambles]

Isn't bending the rules from all times Simon?

Which team was it again that added small metal balls to the fuel during the last pitstop so the car reached the minimum weight at the post race check. Somewhere in the 70s/80s.

Personally I hope F1 gets rid of all those silly rules. Let the teams do whatever they want (for any costs they prefer) and come up with some fabulous innovative creations. I liked the unfair advantage that technology gave to the sport

Metal balls?? Yes we are all well aware that Senna, Prost, Mansell, Piquet etc had much bigger and heavier balls than today's drivers but I hardly think that that counts towards the minimum weight checks....wait....

 

[Omer Said]

There have been and will be always someone cheating in a sport which involves huge amounts of money. Probably there are many more cases which were went uncaught in the past. You can't strangle huge teams to spend the same money as some bar-owner team managers.

But this one is caught, so i hope for a proper punishment.

 

[TheHemps]

Isn't bending the rules from all times Simon?

Which team was it again that added small metal balls to the fuel during the last pitstop so the car reached the minimum weight at the post race check. Somewhere in the 70s/80s.

Personally I hope F1 gets rid of all those silly rules. Let the teams do whatever they want (for any costs they prefer) and come up with some fabulous innovative creations. I liked the unfair advantage that technology gave to the sport

I have the same opinion. The unfair advantage is a great part of the sport.

We never used to have replaceable front wings, remember? At least not off and on in 5 seconds replaceable. Opens the weight rule up to some bending doesn't it. Will it be any wonder if a team is starting with a front wing made of carbon fibre then swapping it for a heavier one for weigh in.

Anyone gonna tell me no-one has had that idea yet? These are the people that thought of putting water into brake Drums.

 

[Hampus Andersson]

Having so much weight in the front wing is going to have quite large effects on the weight distribution i think.

 

[TheHemps]

Having so much weight in the front wing is going to have quite large effects on the weight distribution i think.

Maybe. I'm not saying it's happened. It's just another part of the car that can be affected by the wonderful world of cheating in F1.

People are so much more serious now. It used to be ''haha, good one, wish we'd thought of that, don't do it again though'' to ''Thats illegal, I want a tribunal, I want punishment, KILL THEM ALL!!''

Suppose it's a sign of how the world has changed.

 

[Terry Rock]

I'd like F1 to be again about racing and strategy...not about tire conservation and penalties for blowing up an engine or gearbox.
Sadly...it'll never happen.
F1 as we "old geezers" know it, is dead...and that's very sad.

 

[mesa]

If a team should test, and they have enough money for it, why they can't do that? Formula One is all about developments, not about keeping dead teams alive. FIA should re thinking about their stupid rules.

 

[Roger Snead]

Isn't bending the rules from all times Simon?

Which team was it again that added small metal balls to the fuel during the last pitstop so the car reached the minimum weight at the post race check. Somewhere in the 70s/80s.

Personally I hope F1 gets rid of all those silly rules. Let the teams do whatever they want (for any costs they prefer) and come up with some fabulous innovative creations. I liked the unfair advantage that technology gave to the sport

Well said, all these endless silly rules. I view it as a form of discrimination against those who put their intellegent minds, hard work, and money into R&D for a more exciting F1.

If you want to be at the top, just like anything else in life, it takes extra effort. Go out and get some great sponsors.

 

[RichardHessels]

As long as there has been things to win, people try to cheat to obtain them.

 

[Kennett Ylitalo]

If a team should test, and they have enough money for it, why they can't do that? Formula One is all about developments, not about keeping dead teams alive. FIA should re thinking about their stupid rules.

That did not work, it just means that money is the deciding factor alone; the richest team wins the title every year, you really didn't think this one thru, did you? One one team puts 2 millions more, the next team has to put 2 millions more, it' s a never ending cycle and there's no upper limit. The budgets are high enough already, i'd rather see even less money used to make things even... The current "limitations" are still way too high, so we see few top teams and a lot of teams dropping out.

What it should be is same budget for each team and let the brainmatter be the deciding factor when it comes to technical matters, let the brightest designer and the best driver win.

 

[Hampus Andersson]

Budget cap will never work because of how the teams are built up and how they differ from each other. One front wing might be cheaper to build for one team because of various things etc.

Although resource restriction is a good way saying you can only have x amount of people, x amount of wind tunnel work, x amount of real track testing, x amount of CFD work,

 

[Kennett Ylitalo]

Yeah, it's just a dream that team would have equal chances, limiting resources and time is the only thing they can do about it now.

 

[mesa]

Kenneth I don't think budget cap is a good choice, and also i don't think temas should equalised is the right way. Tha shouldn't be Formula One. If you wish equal teams, you should follow Indy series, or World Series by renault or AutoGP etc.

If we talks about Formula One, we talks about the highest develpoments, which requires higest prices. If a team hasn't got enough mondey, they don't have to play in Formula One - any other series are waiting for them.

I am afraid -and i hope- that you drink more clean water, than lot of people in Africa. You should send them money, or you should try to send them clean water. It's depend on You... But i think you shouldn't drink less water, because that will kill you too.

sry for bad english, i hope you understand

 

[Dux]

It was well known the connection between Pirelli-Ferrari even it was invisible. Both italian companies, it is inevitable that they would contribute to each other.
That was the case with Pirelli in 2012 when Ferrari (relatively ) slow car had so great performances during the race, which was a result big part to the work with the tyres.

Now this year again they are the best in those terms and now this ?! I want to see them penalised

 

[cruyff]

Isn't bending the rules from all times Simon?

Which team was it again that added small metal balls to the fuel during the last pitstop so the car reached the minimum weight at the post race check. Somewhere in the 70s/80s.

Personally I hope F1 gets rid of all those silly rules. Let the teams do whatever they want (for any costs they prefer) and come up with some fabulous innovative creations. I liked the unfair advantage that technology gave to the sport

!! At last! I'm with you 2800%!!

 

[Hampus Andersson]

It was well known the connection between Pirelli-Ferrari even it was invisible. Both italian companies, it is inevitable that they would contribute to each other.
That was the case with Pirelli in 2012 when Ferrari (relatively ) slow car had so great performances during the race, which was a result big part to the work with the tyres.

Now this year again they are the best in those terms and now this ?! I want to see them penalised

no.
no.
no.
lol.