Testgate - Mercedes lucky to escape severe sanctions

By Simon Wright

The French capital of Paris has recently played host to an international tribunal which could have had major implications on the Formula One season for 2013.

The FIA tribunal virtually cleared Mercedes in 'Testgate'

Petronas AMG Mercedes F1, whose factory is based in Brackley, Northamptonshire were in the dock over an alleged illegal tyre test they had conducted with Pirelli just days after the Spanish Grand Prix in May.  The Italian tyre supplier was also told to face the summons at the FIA International Tribunal (logo pictured).

Discussions, defence and remonstrations were held in a highly charged environment on Thursday, so much so that journalists were not allowed to use Twitter to update fans during the evidence that was given.

On Friday, the verdict was handed down.  Mercedes were found in breach of sporting regulations, and were reprimanded along with being banned from competing in the Silverstone Young Drivers’ Test.

However, they escaped a hefty fine, points deductions or even race bans for what seemingly seems to be gaining a blatant advantage.

So, why did the penalty feel like no punishment at all, and where does it leave the FIA, Mercedes and Pirelli as the sport regroups at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix next weekend.

Background

For those not in the knowledge of why it went this far, it all started after a difficult weekend for both Pirelli and Mercedes at the Spanish Grand Prix.  Mercedes suffered from chronic tyre wear, as their cars dropped from the front row lockout they took in qualifying to a very uncompetitive sixth place for Nico Rosberg and 12^th for Lewis Hamilton. 

Pirelli themselves were heavily criticised (including by yours truly) for tyres that could barely last three laps around Barcelona before they started graining and delaminating on a couple of occasions, including once in the race for Jean-Eric Vergne.  Afterwards, they wanted to do a tyre test and Mercedes agreed to help them out.

While others teams packed up, Mercedes stayed behind at the Circuit de Catalunya, and did a three-day test with their 2013 drivers in a 2013 car.

News of this broke when Rosberg mentioned the test to world champion Sebastian Vettel at the GPDA meeting in Monaco.

Vettel told his team and as more information came out, Red Bull Racing and Ferrari made a joint protest on the morning of the race around the streets of Monte Carlo, claiming that Mercedes were in breach of the FIA Sporting Regulations, which prohibits in-season testing after the first week in March until the end of the season.

Mercedes claimed they had received permission from the FIA.  Although they claimed to have written documents, the FIA stated this wasn’t the case.  After a stewards meeting after the Monaco Grand Prix, which Rosberg won convincingly for Mercedes, the case was sent to a tribunal on 20 June.

Counter Punch

The teams moved onto Canada, which Red Bull team boss Christian Horner used strong words such as ‘foul’ and even stating Mercedes were guilty of a ‘crime.’  It later turned out Ferrari had done their own tyre test after April’s Bahrain Grand Prix, though this was with a 2011 car and thus were cleared of any wrongdoing.

In public, Horner kept suggesting all they wanted was clarity on the whole situation.  Deep down, his body language suggested he wanted a big penalty applied against one of his team’s major rivals.

Other teams kept quiet.  Lotus were lobbied by Red Bull to join the protest, but refused as they had been unhappy with earlier instances regarding technical decisions in the past year.  

McLaren stayed out of the mess, as they have their own problems sorting out a car that is so bad, Jenson Button and Sergio Perez would probably do better performing in a barbershop quartet!

So the evidence started to unravel at the tribunal hearing.  Mercedes claimed that they had gained no benefit from doing the 1,000km test, and team principal Ross Brawn stated they had verbal permission from regular FIA race director Charlie Whiting to use their 2013 car.

They did admit that by using plain helmets to discard the use of race drivers was the wrong thing to do, and apologised for that and clearly stated that the test was at Pirelli’s request, and it was to solve concerns over tyre safety which have dogged this championship.

The FIA’s response was they had received no written consent from Mercedes to do the test, and were unaware of the situation Pirelli had got themselves into.  Thursday also concluded with Mercedes offering a compromise of being banned for the Young Drivers’ Test to try and negate any potential advantage they had.

Verdict surprise

The general reaction I received from text messages from friends who follow the sport on Friday were one of surprise and disappointment.  Journalists seemed surprised by the leninent action too. 

Most were suspecting of at least a points deduction from the constructors’ championship or even expulsion from that championship for 2013.  This result is perfect for Mercedes – and not only keep Ross Brawn’s integrity intact, it keeps him in a job.

If Mercedes were found guilty, the man who worked so brilliantly with Michael Schumacher throughout his first career, and spearheaded the fairytale Brawn story in 2009 from the ashes of Honda would surely have paid the price at Mercedes.

As reported by BBC Sport, Brawn said: "We have a blemish-free record here and it was very important to Mercedes that the facts of this case were understood.

"It does sometimes strengthen your resolve rather than weaken it but now it's cleared away we can concentrate on the rest of the year,"

In their own statement, the FIA commented: "The FIA wishes that lessons are learnt from this case and from the decision handed down.  To this end, the FIA will make sure, in association with all F1 teams, that its control of the testings' is strengthened." 

No consistency

In the immediate aftermath of the verdict, I thought the whole episode had been a complete waste of everyone’s time and money, and it is not fair for Grand Prix racing.

No matter the reasons of the test, Mercedes used a 2013 car which is strictly against the regulations.  This was even admitted by the tribunal, but the punishment is pretty unfair on the other teams.  Mercedes have done an illegal test – there’s no getting away from it in my view and the book could and well should have been thrown at them.

A race ban was potentially there, although if that was applied – could you have imagined the reaction of the British fans if Hamilton hadn’t been allowed to start his home race next week?  That would have been brave to do in the circumstances, as an appeal would almost certainly have been made.

A fairer penalty would have been a deduction of constructors’ points – at least from the two most recent races after the test, or prohibited to score points in the next three events.  It is a team issue, so the drivers should be cleared and made free to race.

The FIA’s rule-making system is not fair – there is no consistency.  Other penalties such as BAR using fuel as ballast in 2005 and the ‘Spygate’ controversy of 2007 have ended with far more serious penalties.

Mercedes have come out of the whole episode smiling.  Red Bull and Ferrari wanted clarity, and that is something that they haven’t really got I think.  Both seem to have grudgingly accepted the verdict, probably the right thing to do so the fans can concentrate on the racing.

Pirelli's named has been tarnished in F1 2013 and rightly so

As for Pirelli (tyres pictured), they've lost total control of the tyre situation in the sport.  Why they don't have their own test car is bewildering.  They had one last year, with former F1 pilots Lucas di Grassi and Jaime Alguersuari doing tyre testing.  Why have they not got one this year?  No matter if it is a financial problem, this is their mess and Formula One is in a difficult place.

With Bridgestone not willing to supply tyres again until the recession ends, and Goodyear and Continental recently stating no interest in a return, the FIA’s determination to hound Michelin out of the sport at the end of 2006 has come back to haunt them.  

We are now stuck with a tyre supplier who might have spiced up the racing, and ensured pitstop strategy is a factor again rather than a complete non-event, but has taken things totally to the other extreme.  The scenario is not good.  Pirelli will probably extend their contract, largely because the FIA has no other options and that is their own fault for what they did to Michelin after the tyre fiasco at Indianapolis in 2005, even after Michelin admitted their guilt and did all they could to reimburse disgruntled supporters at the time. 

The International Tribunal was a total waste of everyone’s time.  Mercedes have escaped virtually scot-free from doing something completely prohibited by the current rules, and whilst we can now try to get back to ‘racing,’ although that is a strong word to use in 2013 considering the crazy tyre management we’ve often seen, I get the feeling more questions have been raised by the verdict rather than the answers we were all looking for.

Categories: 2013, Britain, FIA, Mercedes, Paris, Pirelli, Ross Brawn, Silverstone, Tribunal, Twitter