DECEMBER 15, 2004

McLaren to run a third car

The regulations allow for the teams which finished fifth and below in the Constructors' Championship in 2004 to run a third car on Fridays in 2005. The rules about testing have not been changed and so McLaren which finished fifth in the World Championship is in a position to run three cars if it chooses to do so. The identity of the driver of this car is not clear at the moment but there is no need for the team to have a single individual and it may be the job could be shared. This will give the team an advantage over some of the other teams because it will give the team more time to get the cars set-up and the tyres properly evaluated. In order to change the rules there would have to be agreement from the Formula 1 Commission and there is no reason to suggest that will happen as the smaller teams find the running on Friday to be very useful.