The reason I ask is because of Renaults recent test day/filming day. Teams are allowed 2 filming "events" during a year completing a maximum of 100 KM. first of all Lotus tested over 2 days, is that 2 filming events or is that one filming event over 2 days?
secondly there is a cap on testing of 15,000 Kilometres per year excluding the 2 filming events. does this include testing at Jerez etc when these are formal testing events like the 4 days we just had and the 2 test coming up in Bahrain?
here are the rules from F1 website:
As the sport's technical demands have grown in recent years, so too has the importance of testing. But with the FIA ever mindful of rising costs, since 2009 teams have been limited to 15,000 test kilometres during a calendar year. Promotional events (of which each team is allowed two per season up to a maximum distance of 100km each) do not count towards this tally.
Testing can only take place with one car per team at FIA-approved sites and cannot take place outside of Europe without the agreement of a majority of the teams. Ahead of a session, teams must inform the governing body of their schedule so that an observer can be appointed if deemed necessary. All cars must be fitted with the standardised, FIA-approved Electronic Control Unit and have successfully passed all FIA-mandated crash tests.
Three team tests of no more than four days are permitted between January 20 and ten days preceding the first race of the season. Four tests of no more than two consecutive days are also permitted at circuits where an event has taken place, but must commence no less than 36 hours after the end of said event.
All competitors must observe a factory shutdown period of 14 consecutive days in August, during which time their wind tunnels and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) facilities must not be used for Formula One activities.
From 2014 onwards there are heavy restrictions on wind tunnel testing, both in terms of what may be done and how long it may be done for. As before, the scale models used may be no larger than 60 percent and speeds are limited to 50 metres per second. Similar restrictions also apply to CFD simulation work. There are also revised limitations to the amount of running teams can do with previous or historic cars
Now if it is indeed 15,000 total Kilometres then Mercedes has already used up 9-10 % of there permitted testing mileage. Now there are 2 x 4 day tests in Bahrain and 4 x 2 day tests they are permitted to use mid season as far as i can figure if these are all of the tests permitted then that is 20 days total worth of testing in which they can do a Max of 15,000 kilometres so 750 kilometres per day, which translates to about 166 laps (of Jerez).
Will it be possible for the teams to even get close to the 15k limit imposed? I think not unless some extra tests are laid on, such as young driver tests or Pirelli tests.
Also i know this year straight line test days are permitted but reduced to 2 days, i assume this distance will be reduced, but how much straight line testing are they permitted to do on one of these days?
thoughts
???