25/01/2005
NEWS STORY
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The testing agreement, originally proposed in Brazil, and now accepted three months later, albeit with a slight modification at the behest of Honda, will see nine of the F1 teams limited to 30 days of testing during the season. That is from once the season gets underway in Melbourne until season-end in China.
During this time, the teams have agreed not to test at any track that hosts a round of the world championship, with the exception of Silverstone, Barcelona and Monza.
Furthermore, the teams will not be able to test at more than one circuit on the same day, nor will they be allowed to run more than two cars.
Ferrari, which is not part of the agreement will continue to test freely, though the 19 race calendar, and the rule which forbids testing in the seven days before a race should seriously limit the Italian team anyway.
That said, the reigning world champions will be free to test at as many circuits (simultaneously) as they desire and use their full compliment of (5) drivers.
The nine teams believe that by not going with the majority, Ferrari will be discredited and any on-track success will be tainted. That said, whoever has their name on the trophy at the end of the year gets the glory, and in turn the sponsors and various other financial rewards.
At a time when several teams seriously need to step up their performance it will be worth seeing how many of them stick to the agreement as the season progresses.