MAY 3, 2002

A nice plan...

THE FIA is showing an alarming tendency to think laterally at the moment and has come up with an unusual idea to try to stop Formula 1 teams wasting time and money testing between races. The poorer teams have been crying for a testing ban but naturally this has been rejected by the big combines.

Now it seems the federation has come up with a scheme to offer the big teams an incentive not to test and the little ones the chance to do more miles without it costing more money.

The suggestion is that teams that do not test between races should be allowed to have extra testing time during a Grand Prix weekend. This novel idea is probably not designed to help the small teams (as it is being suggested) but rather to split them because if enough of the smaller teams agree to it, it could get through the Formula 1 Commission on a two-thirds vote. This would give the bigger teams the incentive not to test because running in the days before a race at the track in question could have a direct effect on performance. And, of course, the promoters would not doubt vote for it as it could mean more income for the neighborhood as the teams might be there longer...

Politics is the art of the possible and the big teams need to be worried because this proposal might get through - just as the one engine rule did a few weeks ago.