The ban on private testing, a factor of uncertainty?
The 2012 season is one of the most competitive in a long time. The reasons are numerous: tires, technical regulations, etc. For Eric Boullier, the ban on private testing during the championship also plays an important role in this unpredictability.
With Webber’s victory in Monaco, the 2012 F1 season made history. To explain the narrowing of forces that makes the Grand Prix unpredictable, Pirelli tires are often mentioned, as well as the technical regulations that ban blown diffusers, to the detriment mainly of Red Bull. But that’s not all: Part of the unpredictability comes from the fact that we no longer have testing. You have to arrive with new parts, new ideas on Friday morning. You can’t do it a week before, somewhere in Spain, you have to do it during a race weekend, analyzes Eric Boullier, head of the Lotus F1 Team.
This season, the teams have had the opportunity to conduct three days of testing at Mugello just before the Spanish Grand Prix, a first since 2008. For Boullier, we shouldn’t add too much testing during the season. The problem is that testing costs money, and one of the measures to save money has been to eliminate them. We need to rethink the testing format.
Among the possible options, why not consider holding tests on the Monday after a Grand Prix, similar to what is done in Moto GP. For the Frenchman, one idea would be to schedule these tests during a quiet period. « Perhaps we should divide the tests. If we have a break in June, then maybe we should test in June, » states Eric Boullier.
The debate on testing is therefore far from over. Luca di Montezemolo has been advocating for their return for many years, arguing that F1 is the only sport where it is not possible to train. After a somewhat challenging start to the season, the Scuderia has regained form with the return to Europe, and the Mugello tests are probably not unrelated to this resurgence, further supporting Montezemolo in his approach.
