Rookie Days: Ferrari and Mercedes at Magny-Cours in September
The Scuderia Ferrari and the Mercedes AMG team are expected not to conduct their young driver tests in Abu Dhabi in November, but in France, at Magny-Cours in September.
The young drivers’ tests are going to be somewhat disrupted this year. Indeed, while Williams, HRT, and Marussia conducted their young drivers’ tests last week at the Silverstone circuit, many expected the other nine teams on the grid to run in Abu Dhabi after the Grand Prix.
But that will not be the case, indeed, according to *Auto Motor und Sport*, Ferrari and Mercedes have decided to run together on the French circuit of Magny-Cours the week following the Italian Grand Prix, so in early September.
Red Bull, McLaren, Lotus, Sahara Force India, Sauber, Toro Rosso, and Caterham, on the other hand, should stick with the initial choice of Abu Dhabi, either due to the big teams’ intentions or for cost and logistics reasons for the others — with the Singapore Grand Prix shortly after Monza.
The tests for young drivers of the 2012 season thus turn into a farce and show how complicated it is to reach an agreement in F1.
