McLaren next in line for Pirelli test (Update)
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| McLaren to break out 2011 car for Pirelli |
(GMM) McLaren has admitted it is "likely" to help Pirelli with tire testing at some point in the future.
We reported early this week that the British team could be next in line, after it emerged at Monza that Red Bull will be taking a 2011 car to Barcelona this week to test 2014-specification tires for F1's official supplier.
Red Bull's test, featuring test driver Sebastien Buemi and 2014 racer Daniel Ricciardo, was to take place over two days and 1000 kilometers.
"Pirelli regularly approach all teams to help with their tire testing," McLaren sporting director Sam Michael told GMM on Friday.
"Although it is likely that McLaren will support Pirelli at one of their future tests, with a 2011 car, no venue or date has been confirmed at this time," he added.
After the so-called 'test-gate' scandal involving Mercedes earlier this year, a McLaren spokesman insisted on Friday that any McLaren test would be totally unremarkable, within the rules, and not a secret.
09/09/13 (GMM) McLaren is next in line for a private tire test with Pirelli, according to the German-language Speed Week.
It emerged at Monza on Sunday that Red Bull will take a 2011 car to Barcelona this week for a two-day, 1000 kilometer session to test tires for 2014.
"The tires will be round and black and unmarked," motor sport director Paul Hembery insisted.
"So Red Bull will not know what is being tested."
It is believed that, in the wake of this year's Mercedes controversy known as 'test-gate', a condition of Pirelli's ongoing testing with individual teams is that all of the other teams also have to be offered a similar opportunity.
Sporting director Otmar Szafnauer denies Force India was offered a test, but Hembery insisted: "We asked everyone.
"We have another team that is interested but no date as yet," he added.
Speed Week correspondent Mathias Brunner claims the team that has accepted Pirelli's offer is McLaren.