F1 teams seek change to 2009 testing ban
The specialist website grandprix.com, headed by the British reporter Joe Saward, claims that the looming ban was discussed by team management at the recent Portimao test.
The in-season ban, designed to cut costs and staff numbers, has been controversial among some teams, given the simultaneous introduction in 2009 of KERS technology, which has proved troublesome in the development phase.
It is therefore proposed that three official tests be excluded from the 2009 ban, which is currently scheduled to take effect shortly before the Australian grand prix through to November's season ending race in Abu Dhabi.
"It's not in everybody's interest to see only five or six cars finish races, so we're trying to get an agreement on a change of the rules for 2009," a top team member is quoted as saying.
Modifying the ban, agreed in collaboration between the teams' FOTA alliance and the governing FIA, would require an unanimous vote.