F1 News: Ferrari Chief Calls For Rule Change After Recent Red Bull Testing Sparks Debate

Ferrari's Fred Vasseur raises concerns over Red Bull's use of Max Verstappen in testing sessions, sparking debate over the spirit and legality of the sport's regulations.

Fred Vasseur / Ferrari Press Image

Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur has voiced pressing concerns over Red Bull's testing strategy. Vasseur's comments underscore a growing unease with how Red Bull, currently leading the constructors' standings by a significant margin, is utilizing their prime driver, Max Verstappen, in test sessions that some, including Vasseur, suggest might blur the lines of the sport's regulatory spirit.

This comes in the aftermath of the Spanish Grand Prix, which saw Ferrari trailing Red Bull by a substantial 60 points. Meanwhile, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc has slipped to third in the driver standings, beneath the towering shadows of Red Bull and McLaren’s performances. Leclerc's teammate Carlos Sainz is currently in fourth position in the standings, 32 points behind the Monegasque driver. Such standings provide a stark backdrop to the issue raised by Vasseur regarding the use of Testing of Previous Cars (TPC), a practice allowed under current F1 regulations which is usually for nurturing young talent.

In the spotlight is Red Bull's strategic decision to deploy Verstappen in a TPC session at Imola, just prior to the Spanish event. The session aimed to tackle bump-riding issues related to those noted in the sport’s 2022 car designs, practices Vasseur believes trespass the intent of the rules, aimed not merely at refining driving finesse but at pushing car development forward under the guise of legal boundaries. He explained, as quoted by GPFans:

“There are TPCs you can do with your race drivers. These are mainly about developing the car, especially if you schedule it a week before a Grand Prix.

“I don't complain about what they do, because it is legally OK. But it's not like they want Max to gain experience on a Tuesday.”

The Ferrari chief proposed a revision to testing regulations, advocating for a clearer separation of testing days allocated for seasoned drivers versus those meant for nurturing inexperienced ones:

“I think this needs to be looked at. We would better divide it into days that we do with our drivers and days that we do with inexperienced drivers.”