F1 teams cautious on GP format changes?

At Magny-Cours, several teams complained that Friday running had been rendered superfluous, since all the teams except Minardi had tested at the French circuit the previous week. As a result the front-running teams were reluctant to waste new sets of tyres and completed very few laps. The proposed regulations would ban testing at all 17 Grand Prix tracks during the season and instead extend Friday running to a six hour test session, according to this week's Motoring News.

F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone is said to be in favour of the new rules and wants to introduce them for the 2001 season, but they must first be approved by the team owners.

But despite the fact that the proposals would theoretically reduce costs and increase action for spectators, there are several potential objections from the constructors.

If teams are unable to test as much as they can at present, it is argued that the gap between the 'haves' and 'have-nots' will not be reduced, since the 'haves' will simply channel their budgets into simulated testing back at the factory.

Some teams are also said to be against the changes on the grounds of safety, saying that there is a necessity for F1 teams to be able to thoroughly test development parts without time constraints.

They also argue that the image of the sport could be tarnished if testing accidents such as those suffered by Ricardo Zonta this season - including clearing a safety fence in testing at Silverstone - occurred in front of a worldwide TV audience, and that the odds of this would increase with the introduction of the new proposals.

An alternative to Friday testing would be the re-introduction of Friday qualifying, using an aggregate system where both Friday and Saturday times would count.

"Several people would welcome the proposal of aggregating the two days, so wet days would still count," said Williams team boss Sir Frank Williams. "All the solutions have pluses and minuses. We need a bit of bravery to try one of them."