A proposal by Ferrari to ease F1's strict testing limits was voted down in Monaco. The Italian team, the owner of the Mugello and Fiorano circuits, proposed that teams be allowed to trade wind tunnel hours, straightline testing and promotional days in exchange for more actual circuit testing.
But Germany's Auto Motor und Sport claims the proposal was narrowly defeated in a vote. Rumours of Ferrari's proposal were soon deafened by the controversy about Mercedes' 'secret' Barcelona test, about which Ferrari and Red Bull protested. But Ferrari is also being probed for its own Pirelli tyre test, also run at Barcelona but with a 2011 car and Pedro de la Rosa at the wheel.
Red Bull's Christian Horner has defended the Italian team, saying only Mercedes' test with a 2013 car should be under the spotlight. And O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper also quotes Red Bull designer Adrian Newey as saying: "A test with a 2011 car is legal."
The 'secret' Mercedes test is certain to be a big topic of conversation this weekend in Canada, where another good performance by the Monaco-winning team would be controversial. Mercedes' Toto Wolff said the Brackley based team's improved performance at recent races is simply the result of hard work.
"Our car has been on pole position for the last four races, which shows our basic speed, so the focus in that time has been on improving our performance on Sunday afternoons," he said. "We managed this in Monaco, partly thanks to the unique characteristics of the circuit. This weekend will give us a more representative indication of how much progress we have made." (GMM)
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