14th NOVEMBER 2010 will be one of the worst days of the year for me. When the chequered flag drops in Abu Dhabi, Formula1 will officially come to a close for 2010. After such an action-packed season, the FIA and F1 teams will pack their bags and head home – there will be no action on the track till the dawn of the New Year. In fact the 1st test of the 2011 season has been scheduled for 1st February 2011!
Reason? The winter testing ban that was introduced a few years ago. Why? To cut operating costs for all Formula1 teams. The best way to explain this testing ban is to press the rewind button – let us rewind to the late 90s and early 2000s era where there was no ban on testing. The big budget teams had two team setups – one was the the ‘race team’ that hopped to a GP every fortnight and fought for championship victories and points. The other was the ‘test team’ that only ‘tested’ F1 cars between these GPs.
One might wonder ‘why’ should F1 cars be tested? If they need to be tested, why ban winter testing or for that matter limit in-season testing? The answer, as I always, say lies in the numbers.
Formula1 cars are a most efficient piece of machinery and I have often referred to them as pieces of art in my columns before. However, F1 cars need a high amount of testing to achieve those levels of efficiency and safety. Hence the reason to test cars in Formula1. And mind you, testing has prevailed in Formula1 since the 60s and 70s.
However, there’s a saying in motorsport that goes – there’s no substitution for track time. In layman terms it simply means – keep driving till you achieve the levels of perfection (and speed) that you are out to achieve! And this is exactly what the big budget teams were out to do till the testing ban came into effect. (The big teams always take F1 very seriously, don’t they?)
Teams operated in two modes – race mode and testing mode. Testing mode included engineers, mechanics, managers and drivers who were only used for in-season testing. They tested and tweaked the cars that went racing every alternate Sunday. Every new component whether related to aerodynamics, the engine, brakes or even a small winglet was first tested ‘adequately’ before being declared ‘race-worthy’. While this sounded like a perfect way to win championships (ask Ferrari), this method wasn’t most cost effective. Running an F1 team costs millions of dollars anyways, to add the testing bills to that was a cost that not all teams on the grid could afford.
As a result of which testing was seen as a luxury only the top teams could afford. It was also seen as an unfair advantage that was purely bought by selling more sponsorship i.e. raising more money! Since the global recession a few years back, F1 has had to fight hard to shed its over-spending image and by implementing the ban on testing, there have been a major reduction in costs.
Teams would usually spend $ 800,000 – $ 1,000,000 per day in testing. This could would not only include transport cost for personnel and equipment, but also the cost of developing test cars and engines and of course hiring test drivers (experienced ones come at an expensive cost!). By limiting the numbers of test days and kilometers, parity between the big budget teams and small teams has been maintained.
So who got this smart regulation in place? The FOTA or the Formula One Teams Association unanimously agreed on the ban in testing at the start of the 2009 season. I haven’t always been in favour of the FOTA or the FIA’s regulations, but this particular change reflects F1’s strong attempt to be cost and resource effective – the latter being as important. The mindset of the teams has now changed to ‘what best can I perform given the limited resources and track time’. I believe this regulation is here to stay and while it does affect rookies and replacement drivers, the difference it makes to an F1 team’s budget cannot be overlooked.
For those who are interested in the other numbers – testing is limited to 15,000 kms per team and testing days are limited to 15. Having shared my perspective on the testing ban, can someone help me fast forward to 1st February already?
