F1 teams vote against return of testing

The Formula 1 teams have voted against bringing back in-season testing, after a meeting of the Sporting Working Group yesterday.

Ferrari, which owns a test track on its doorstep at Maranello as well as the circuit of Mugello in Tuscany, which hosted a test last summer, was keen to see a return of testing and proposed various ideas including some aimed at opportunities to bring new drivers on.

But in a vote yesterday, only the Ferrari engined teams for 2014 supported the return of testing, the majority were against it, these did not include Toro Rosso but did include Marussia, which is expected to use the new Ferrari turbo engine.

However sources in the F1 paddock suggested that the story is not over. At present the process of enshrining rules and regulations is unclear as there is no Concorde Agreement in force.

In-season testing was cut under the Resource Restriction Agreement, which was brought into force for the 2009 season.

The idea was to cut staff numbers as testing costs rose to around $1,500 per lap.

The only exemption is the three day Young Guns test, which gives drivers who have not competed in a Grand Prix a chance to drive an F1 car, although some teams use experienced development to do test mileage on new parts. It also gives teams a chance to get some much needed extra revenue by running drivers who have a budget.

The Young Guns test was voted through again and looks likely to take place at Silverstone.

Last year the teams ended up divided on which venue to use, with some of the less well funded teams doing tests at Silverstone while others went Magny Cours and some to Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.

Also discussed at the SWG meeting was the subject of a penalty point accumulator, similar to the way it works with road car licences in many countries, leading to a ban for persistent infringements.