OCTOBER 13, 2001

The thorny question of testing

THE Formula 1 team bosses met on Saturday afternoon in Suzuka in an attempt to figure out what to do about testing. The FIA has announced that it has no intention of policing testing next year and that the teams have to come up with agreements. In a press conference on Friday afternoon Ron Dennis, Craig Pollock and Eddie Jordan could not even agree on whether or not there would rules next year or not.

"I think every team bar one wants to stop all testing the week preceding a Grand Prix," said Dennis. "With one signature from each team we could put it into place. All teams want an August break. All teams have agreed to the break from mid-December to the end of the first week of January. So there is agreement. There's another meeting here and I hope, I sincerely hope that we will come to a common sense position and then that we will action that through the correct channels."

The team bosses have two weeks in which to find a solution to the problem because after November 1 the only way that sporting rules can be changed is if there is 100% agreement. This might be possible but at the moment one team (believed to be Ferrari) is holding out.

There is unlikely to be an immediate decision from Suzuka as Alain Prost and Tom Walkinshaw did not make the trip to Japan. Nor was Bernie Ecclestone there to help persuade the team bosses make up their minds.