Although understanding of the crisis facing F1, Gian Carlo Minardi is unhappy at the decision to turn the forthcoming Silverstone test for up and coming drivers into a Pirelli tyre test.

The Young Driver Test was originally envisaged as a means of giving up and coming youngsters their first taste of F1, or at least to give further running to drivers who have shown initial promise.

However, in the wake of the Silverstone fiasco, FIA president Jean Todt has deemed that the three-day test will be used to help investigate the current spate of failures and at the same time allow Pirelli, by means of using 2013 cars supplied by all teams, and drivers who have contested (no more than two) Grands Prix the opportunity to carry out development work as it looks ahead.

"The situation we're in today in F1 is a consequence of the few tests made, and tyre approval only after few tyre test sessions under weather conditions which were so different from those we're experiencing in this period of the year", says Minardi, who having sold his F1 team to Paul Stoddart, now concentrates mainly on the management of young drivers.

"That being said, I don't agree with the request of replacing the rookie test with tyre tests," he continued. "In this moment we cannot afford to lose the chance to see young drivers in action behind the wheel of a F1 car because regulation mistakes made to bring the costs down.

"In this moment teams are blaming each other about their influence on Pirelli's decision to continue to use the same compound," he added. "I think Pirelli, one of the biggest tyre manufacturers in the world, had informed on time the FIA about what was happening and all the problems to be faced. At that point the FIA should have automatically approved new tyres to ensure safety. In this way, all the arguments about the matter would have been called to a halt and the unanimous approval to proceed would have not been necessary."

Although no longer running an F1 team, it is clear that from a distance, Minardi can see the situation far clearer than many of those at the 'coalface'.