Mercedes and Ferrari in 'secret' Pirelli tyre tests

[Hamberg]

Wow I'm loving the anti Hamilton brigade on here having a field day. A coded 1000km test isn't comparable to Benetton 1994. Seriously get a grip.

 

[sobriety]

Sod it, let them test. If ferrari want to spend a fortune pounding round fiorano then let them get on with it. Bollocks to this faux-1 that we currently have.

 

[The Artist.....]

Hamberg

Before engaging keyboard, try reading and thinking about what was written!!! What, precisely was Benetton's punishment for breach of the rules in 1994 ?

 

[The Pits]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Benneton were not punished for any of the allegations against them in 1994? Michael Schumacher got a 2 race ban for the Silverstone black flag incident, but I cannot recall anything else?

 

[The Artist.....]

The Pits
Exactly

 

[Brogan]

Did anyone other than Pirelli and Mercedes actually witness the testing?

If not, it never happened

 

[Incubus]

re 1994 Disqualified at Spa that year.

 

[The Pits]

You want the truth?

You cant handle the truth.

Paul Hembury - Did you order the code red?

 

[Mephistopheles]

I think they will get slightly more than a $100,000 fine The Artist.....

Edit

I just read your post The Pits Benetton got a $100,000 fine for not sending copies of their engine management system to the FIA when immediately requested. the rest of the penalties were for the black flag incident at Silverstone and so doesn't count..

And Hamberg I see this situation as slightly more serious than the Benetton one.

 

[Hamberg]

It's the word 'cheating' I object to. ****ing idiots maybe but far not cheating.

 

[mjo]

I find it interesting that only Red Bull seriously protested this, and Ferrari asked for clarification. You would think that, if this was so underhand, sneaky and illegal, then all of the teams would have protested?

 

[Brogan]

The other teams don't need to get involved - they can just sit back and let Red Bull lodge the official protest.

 

[Mephistopheles]

The very least Merc should have done is get clarification from the FIA to make sure that the test was legal and not just take pirelli's word for it.

Pirelli don't run F1, even I know that much...

 

[Hamberg]

If they didn't '****ing idiots' rings true!

 

[mjo]

Yes but if there was a case of serious rule-breaking, wouldn't it be logical to the other teams to protest with Red Bull to add further weight to their protest? It's just that, with only one team protesting, it seems to me that this has been largely exaggerated and is not a serious case of rule-breaking; ie that the teams did know about and had the opportunity to do a potential test (I heard somewhere that Ferrari did a similar one after Bahrain?) so I think that, to be honest, Red Bull just want to stir up controversy. But I could be completely wrong.

 

[Brogan]

Only one team need to protest, it doesn't carry any extra weight with more teams.
The other teams are content to let Red Bull be the bad guys, who aren't members of FOTA remember.

 

[mjo]

According to Joe Saward:
"The team (Mercedes) was not aware of what tyres were being used. I understand that Mercedes checked with the FIA before agreeing to the test, and was given the go-ahead as Pirelli’s deal allows for testing but the tyre company does not currently have a suitable chassis and so is allowed to ask teams to help. There will be other tests as well with other teams as the season progresses, but it seems that Red Bull is making a fuss because it was not doing the testing"
http://joesaward.wordpress.com/

 

[Brogan]

"but it seems that Red Bull is making a fuss because it was not doing the testing"

Surely not!

 

[Mephistopheles]

I reckon it went something like this.

Paul Hembery and Ross Brawn are sat down having a cup of tea.

PH - Oi Ross do you fancy staying on and doing some tyre testing for us?
RB - Are we allowed to do that?
PH - Trust me mate it's pukka, buddy.
RB - Yeah okay then, sounds great.
PH - Okay, I'll fetch the tyres from the back of the van.

 

[no-FIAt-please]

God I hate Red Bull and Horner...

First to jump up and cry foul, and moan like a bitch. But when they're cars have illegal pieces (slot in the rear floor in front of the rear tires) on them and they win the Monaco GP they say "so what?".

I know every team acts in their own interests but Red Bull seem to take this to the extreme, Horner's slime just adds to the dislike I have for them.