Before leaving for Barcelona, where he took first place in the Spanish GP, Max Verstappen was the protagonist of a test in Imola organized by Red Bull. And the presence of the Dutch champion on the banks of the Santerno made Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur turn up his nose. “A test like that, a week before the race and with a regular driver on the track is more development than anything else,” the Frenchman explained to The Race.
The rules
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Red Bull took advantage of the track days granted by the FIA to improve the handling of the single-seater on curbs, taking advantage of a track, that of Imola, which is particularly demanding in this respect. Furthermore, from this year the team can use the RB18, Milton Keyens’ first ground effect car, obtaining a direct comparison with the 2024 single-seater. In fact, the Regulation allows the use of cars at least two years old, making the use of the RB18 perfectly legal. Likewise, this was not a secret test. The teams have the obligation to notify rival teams and usually use these opportunities to facilitate young drivers’ learning to drive a modern F1.
the statements
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And precisely under this last aspect, Vasseur suggested a division of the tests depending on the driver involved on the track. “What you can do with a young driver is different from what a starter allows you to do. It is clear that in this case it was a question of development, especially one week before the race – explains the Ferrari TP regarding Verstappen’s test – “it is necessary to divide the days between starting and non-starting drivers, so as to allow the latter to improve and travel kilometres. In any case, I don’t have it against Red Bull, they did everything regularly.”
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the aftermath
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The compromise suggested by Vasseur could represent a good solution. In order to prevent teams from using this type of track testing to collect useful data for the current world championship, the FIA has made it mandatory to use cars with specifications dating back to the year of production, prohibiting the use of updated components. Likewise, drivers can only run with experimental tires supplied by Pirelli, different from those used in the current season. This does not mean that, as in the case of Red Bull, if the objective is to verify the behavior of the car on the curbs, these restrictions are relatively ineffective. A subdivision in the type of tests, with some days reserved for young drivers only, would allow the latter to gain experience without having a regular driver preferred. It now remains to be seen whether Ferrari’s observation will remain an isolated observation or whether other teams will follow the thesis put forward by Maranello.
