Teams Volunteer to Reduce Testing to 24 Days

Nine of the ten Formula One teams have agreed today to reduce testing during the season to 24 days, rather than ten days as originally planned.

The teams met at Heathrow today to discuss a cost saving initiative they signed at the Brazilian Grand Prix last month, and agreed today to go ahead with the plan despite objections from World Champions Ferrari. As part of the agreement today, the teams said they will attend the French and British Grand Prix next season.

“It's done; we have agreed a commercial deal with Bernie [Ecclestone], and the British and French Grands Prix will go ahead," Minardi chief Paul Stoddart told Atlas F1 after the meeting. "We will lose money, but we will do it.

"We have made a pact that we will do both Grands Prix because it wouldn't be a World Championship without the British and you cant have the British without the French.

"At the end of the day, then, arguably it takes 10 teams to agree but in reality could you imagine Ferrari saying they would not go? It is fair to say the races have been saved."

The nine teams have also made a private agreement to limit testing next year, after agreeing that the move would reduce the costs enough to compensate for the outlay of attending the two extra races next year. They are expected to go ahead with the testing reduction even if Ferrari refuse.

"We have made a voluntary agreement to cut testing by 50 percent to 24 days," Stoddart added. "[it's] not the 10 we were aiming for, but you cannot do that unless you have a single tyre supplier, which we are looking to in the future.

"That is a huge reduction for the big teams and the whole thing is a vast difference to the way we approached the meetings in the past when we failed to agree on anything.

"If people say this is too little, too late, then all I can say is that is just bullshit. We need Ferrari with us, but we have a firm resolve amongst nine teams to move forwards."

Ferrari did not attend the meeting at Heathrow airport today, citing prior commitments as the reason for their absence.