On Testing Restrictions...

[lukeaar]

All of the restrictions on testing by Formula 1 teams, as well as the talk about resource restriction agreements, got me thinking.

All of these restrictions are only forced upon teams that are currently in F1. What is stopping another body picking up the 2014 regulations and starting an insane development program now, before becoming an official F1 team in 2014? Would they not be able to spend as much as they want and test as much as they want?

[Websta]

I would suspect they would have a hard time securing funding, but I like that idea. Most new teams can barely scrape enough funding to just turn up at the races and qualify within 107%, so only teams with major financial backing like Toyota (who still own their F1 factory, do they not?) would be able to take advantage of this loophole. They would need to supply their own tyres as well, wouldn't they?

[thisisatest]

i had a similar question before that nobody could answer, and it's appropriate for this title so:
you cant run a current car, or a car one year old, for testing, besides when it specifically allowed. you can run an older car. what's to keep a team from building a car that is "similar" to a current or future f1 car but technically illegal? it would not qualify as a current car, could they do whatever they want? it could be 7/8 scale so all dimensions are off, the possibilities are endless.

[lukeaar]

I would suspect they would have a hard time securing funding, but I like that idea.

Yes, the financial requirements would be probably the hardest thing to meet, but I'm just interested if there's any regulatory wording closing off this avenue of development.

i had a similar question before that nobody could answer, and it's appropriate for this title so:
you cant run a current car, or a car one year old, for testing, besides when it specifically allowed. you can run an older car. what's to keep a team from building a car that is "similar" to a current or future f1 car but technically illegal? it would not qualify as a current car, could they do whatever they want? it could be 7/8 scale so all dimensions are off, the possibilities are endless.

If it's not racing, is it a current car? What's the wording in the regulation? If a billionaire decided to fund a private track-day car that happened to perfectly fit into 2014 regulations, would it be a 'current f1 car'?

[Nando]

If a car is built by the 2014 Formula One Regulations then surely it´s a Formula 1 car?

2014 regs:

1.1 Formula One Car
"An automobile designed solely for speed races on circuits or closed courses."


Good question.