29/05/2013
FEATURE BY MIKE LAWRENCE
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There have been protests filed about the Pirelli test at Barcelona. Nothing is helped by journalists calling this test secret, which implies subterfuge.
On Sky TV the commentator, David Croft, not only assured viewers that the test had been secret, but that it transgressed the sport's sporting code. That was stated as fact. That is no way for a journalist to behave, it is up to the FIA to decide.
I live not far from Goodwood and, until 1981/2, it was a popular test circuit for F1 teams. Standing in my garden, I could tell from the engine noise what category of car was being tested and how hard it was being driven. At the time, even F1 cars had silencers because there was a 105 decibel limit.
How far do you suppose that a current F1 engine. pulling 18,000 rpm, can be heard?
There is no such thing as a secret test on a validated circuit. How many people do you suppose that Barcelona had to employ during the tyre test? The circuit has all manner of other facilities: a skid pan, kart track, mini bikes, helicopter rides. Every major circuit is run as a year-round facility.
Mercedes F1 is reported to have run a car for 1,000 kms on behalf of Pirelli who wanted a top team to evaluate its tyres. The test was on behalf of Pirelli though doubtless Mercedes also learned from it.
You cannot run an F1 car for 1,000 kms in secret. Any journalist who thinks that is plain daft. Pitpass put the word, 'secret' in inverted commas. The test may prove to be of dubious legality, but secret it was not.
Most F1 teams are based in a corner of England's East Midlands. Personnel can move from one team to another without moving house or interrupting their children's schooling. Friendships are formed away from the track. People from different teams live in the same villages, drink in the same pubs and form friendships.
A guy from Mercedes F1 might have had to cry off a pub quiz, darts or a cricket match because he was staying on in Spain for a three day test. The test may not have been publicised, but no way was it secret.
Pirelli may be an Italian company, but its F1 operation is run from England.
Mercedes F1 was the only team not to pack up and return home after the Spanish GP. The Pirelli people stayed behind as well. This would have been noticed. After a race, the drill for packing the transporter and heading back to base is as organised and as disciplined as a tyre stop. There are ferries and planes to catch.
Niki Lauda and Toto Wolff claim that all proper procedures were followed. A statement from the FIA suggests that they may be mistaken. That is something for the FIA to decide, not some TV commentator.
Not for one moment do I think that Niki and Toto deliberately flouted the rules. They have plum jobs with Germany's most prestigious company and they are very bright men.
Red Bull and Ferrari are the only two teams to have lodged protests. Since the test wasn't a secret they could have done that before the event. If there was merit in their claims, they could have had it stopped. For their own political purposes, they chose to wait until the eve of the Monaco GP.
Do not tell me that they did not know in advance that the test was going ahead. Christian Horner has suddenly discovered a letter sent to him from Pirelli last year, a letter which, apparently, he failed to properly grasp. Now he is crying, 'We Wuz Robbed!'.
Matters are complicated by the fact that, according to some sources, Pirelli's contract with the FIA allows them to undertake a 1000 km mid-season test. The argument is that the test was for the benefit of Pirelli and not Mercedes.
Among counter arguments are claims that all teams should have been given the opportunity to undertake the tyre test. According to some sources, Ross Brawn has said that nobody else was interested. We know that Christian Horner does not read all of his mail properly.
Ross Brawn is also quoted as saying that it was up to Pirelli to invite other teams, since they have the clause in the contract with the FIA. Because it was a tyre test, it behove Pirelli to issue information.
In the best tradition of modern Formula One, the issue will be decided by lawyers. Forget about signing the best drivers, hire hot lawyers.
The fact that Ferrari and Red Bull waited until the Monaco GP to lodge their protests leaves a sour taste in my mouth.
People from both teams have expressed outrage, but it is artificial, manufactured, fury for the benefit of those members of the mass media who are so dumb that they swallow the idea of a secret test. The phrase, 'secret test' has become hot among those who cannot be bothered to think, or who are not equipped to think.
My guess is that it was dreamed up by some PR person, who earned their salary.
Now I will reveal an actual secret F1 test. In 1989, Onyx GP had just completed their first car and there was no time to test it before the Brazilian GP. Onyx was located about three miles from Goodwood which was due to hold a low-key club sprint one Sunday.
A generous man, Mike Earle, principle of Onyx, approached the secretary of the club organising the sprint and offered to pay the club's fee for hiring the circuit.
Bang on 9am Stefan Johansson set off in the Onyx and did three laps, during which he pulverised the unofficial lap record. The car was loaded on to a transporter which headed to Heathrow. For four minutes, nobody at the circuit noticed an F1 car on the track.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I submit that that was a secret test you can call a secret test.
Mike Lawrence
mike.lawrence@pitpass.com
To check out previous features from Mike, click here