Overnight the FIA issued the following statement in regards to the secret Formula 1 Pirelli tyre tests:
The FIA has asked Team Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 and Scuderia Ferrari Team which have taken part in tyre tests in the 2013 season to reply to a disciplinary inquiry in pursuance of the FIA Judicial and Disciplinary Rules.
This follows the Stewards’ Report from the Monaco Grand Prix and represents supplementary information required by the FIA in the light of the replies received from Pirelli, who were asked for clarifications on Tuesday May 28th.
Mercedes we all knew about, they have allegedly used a 2013-spec car in their test with Pirelli and, in theory, that’s a clear cut breach of the sporting regulations.
Ferrari, however, will be very surprised, we suspect, to be asked to explain their participation with Pirelli. It’s been reported they used a 2011-spec car provided by their Corse Clienti program, which is independent from the F1 team.
Using a two-year-old car has been understood by the teams to be acceptable. Although, the regulations define acceptable cars as being “substantially different” from the 2013 specifications. It would seem then that the concern for Ferrari will be: is the 2011 F150 Italia different enough from the 2013 F138?
Lawyers at 10 paces everyone!