Rumours started to circulate before the champagne stopped flowing in Monaco about a breach of testing by a front-running squad. And now Team Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 could well be in trouble regarding an in-season test session with the sport’s sole tyre supplier, Pirelli.
This season has been exciting and predictable for many reasons, not least the fact that the rubber supplied by Pirelli has provided unpredictable racing and results (you can read all about that in Maurice Hamilton’s column in the upcoming July issue of CAR).
The lads at Mercedes have proved that the silver cars are the quickest in the field… over a single lap, and if championship points were awarded on qualifying alone, the log would look very different than it does now. As it stands, the race distance is in excess of 300 km and during that time lots can, and usually does, happen.
Hamilton and Rosberg have relinquished leading positions at recent Grands Prix as their cars simply chew through the Pirelli rubber they qualify on. Post Spanish Grand Prix, however, matters were to change. Mercedes took the opportunity to conduct a 1 000 km in-season test with its current car, specifically disallowed by current regulations, with Pirelli.
At the subsequent race in Monaco, a Mercedes driver stood atop the podium, and as expected in Formula other teams were up in arms. Ferrari and Red Bull were both eager to point out that Mercedes had contravened the Sporting Regulations.
It turned out that Ferrari was not so innocent, having conducted a test earlier this year. The Scuderia were quick to state that it used a two year old car driven by a test driver as allowed by rules and not by a currently competing Formula One pilot.
The FIA agreed, and made this comment:
To close the case as regard to Scuderia Ferrari Team considering that its participation in a tyre testing organised by Pirelli in Barcelona on 23-24 April 2013 using for this purpose a 2011 car is not deemed to contravene the applicable FIA rules.
It seems the Red team has once escaped any form of sanction, albeit at a more transparent level this time.
In a statement Pirelli explained: “The use of the car utilised by Mercedes, in particular, was the result of direct communication between FIA and the team itself. Pirelli did not ask in any way that a 2013 car be used: not of Mercedes nor FIA nor the teams which, during the year, were offered the opportunity of participating in tests for the development of tyres for 2014.”
From that alone it seems that the FIA were aware of the initial test and informed of which car was going to be used. The bit that seems odd to me is the fact that a front-running Formula One outfit, led by no less than the extremely smart Ross Brawn, seemed to misunderstand a very basic piece of communication.
Pirelli also confirmed: “The tyres used were not from the current championship but belonged to a range of products still being developed in view of an eventual renewal of the supply contract. Further, none of the tests were carried for the purpose of enhancing specific cars, but only to test tyre solutions for future championships.”
As it stands Team Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 now faces a hearing, which has been called upon to make a decision in compliance with the FIA Judicial and Disciplinary Rules now. The International Tribunal is part of a new judicial system established by the FIA in 2010. Comprising a 12-man panel, its remit includes ruling on cases that cannot be dealt with by race stewards.
As McLaren was, unjustly, punished with a $100 million fine a few years back based purely on allegation and speculation will Mercedes also be raked over the coals simply for not being Ferrari or powered by a French engine?
We can only hope that the truth prevails and that the findings of the tribunal do not sully the great victory achieved by Rosberg at the Monaco Grand Prix or indeed ruin what has thus far been an exciting Formula One season.
Roll on the Canadian race.