The regulations for 2016 mean that pre-season testing has been cut from 12 days to 8 days, all in the pursuit of cost saving.
The regulations states that the teams cannot test their cars prior to the 1st February, though in 2014 they received special dispensation from the FIA to begin winter testing during the last week of January. This was due to reliability uncertainty over the new V6 Turbo Hybrid power units.
For 2016, the opening event of the season in Australia has been moved back two weeks and will take place during the first weekend of April.
2016 winter testing is now pencilled in for March 1-4 and 15-18, both at the circuit de Catalunya. Jerez is to be dropped.
For those who love to shoot pictures of F1 cars in less usual circumstances, the loss of Jerez will be harsh. The setting for the circuit on the Iberian peninsula is desert like and produces some spectacular backdrops not seen elsewhere the F1 cars run in modern times.
The reason for the Jerez test has always been in the south of Spain during February, the temperatures regularly climb during the day to around 20-25 degrees Celsius. Whilst in Barcelona at that time of the year, snow and ice may prevail.
The teams have chosen to run both tests during the week – Tue-Fri. They claim, if the tests were at the weekend a much bigger crowd would attend and the circuit de Catalunya would be required to increase security and pass the costs on to the teams.
TJ13 has learned the Tue-Fri schedule is a negotiating position. Both teams and the Barcelona circuit owners know that when winter testing has been run at the weekend, crowds of 30,000 plus have turned up.
The minimum entry fee is 15 Euro’s and rises to 75 Euro’s to include a lunch time walk along the pit lane.
If the circuit were to reduce the charges they are proposing to levy on the teams for the winter tests, then the teams may play ball and agree to test over the weekend – then the F1 fans can get closer to the sport they love.
Has anyone done the lunch pit walk? Is it worth the 75 euros?
Oh FFS. Then I read this –
“…As discussions begin to decide who will supply tyres from 2017, FIA president Jean Todt admits that things have not been ideal for Pirelli thanks to the restricted amount of testing it is allowed to do…”
http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1-teams-told-to-do-more-to-help-tyre-supplier
F1 continues to dig a huge hole for itself.
To add to that F1 has managed to get itself into a hole where the wet tyres are totally un-raceable. But when Pirelli aren’t allowed to test the tyres on a modern car and the teams point blank refuse to go out on them what can they do? Rain these days means safety car or red flag. How many times have we seen cars streaming in for inters when the FIA finally decide it’s dry enough to race? What ever happened to wet racing 🙁
Jules Bianchi is what happened to wet racing.
Whiting fucked up and he’s scared of making the same mistake again, so he’s gone for the H&S way out.
It is extremely frustrating to watch the decline of F1. It is like watching a slow motion train crash.
I pay 75 for a guide visit, not include the lunch pit walk. It was ok….
Is there any change to in-season testing? Two tests at Barcelona in March, fair enough, no more ‘install’ days at Jerez. Teams should use all 8 days as much as possible. This also means 3 months ‘off’ in the factory – Dec, Jan, Feb.
What a bunch of cheap idiots… They are killing F1 and giving the fans less and less to watch.
I doubt that the new measure will cut the costs. In the pasts, the teams that couldn’t afford to run their cars for all of the designated testing dates didn’t show up, even though they were allow to. It seems like this is more of a measure to put brakes on the spending of the top teams. It won’t work. Instead, they’ll spend more of their time on computer simulations, engine stress testing, etc.
Just checking dates for 2016 testing. Shocked to learn JEREZ is off the timetable! . WAS affordable for petrol heads here in Spain V.I.P. 20 euros (Grandstand) Disappointed !!!
Utterly pissed off that they’ve dropped Jerez. The crowds that turned up to see Alonso last year at the weekend were very large. This is just another example of how the people in control of F1 don’t give a toss about the fans.
I think I may not bother with the 2016 procession. BTCC is far more entertaining.