Heidfeld, Gascoyne calls for less testing and more races
"I'm looking forward to having more races as is planned for the future," said Heidfeld. "Though I wouldn't mind missing one or two tests. Actually the tests have been reduced quite a lot over the last two or three years, but I hope we have more races because there is not one that I don't like."
"I'm looking forward to going to India and the other interesting new places currently being discussed," he added, who welcomes the intended extension of the 2009 calendar to 19 rounds.
No testing during the in season and longer-life engines are the way forward for Formula One, according to Force India technical director Mike Gascoyne.
F1 team principals recently gathered at Ferrari's headquarters in Maranello to discuss FIA President Max Mosley's calls to reduce costs and improve racing.
Gascoyne believes no testing during the season is the way to go, and also insists that F1 needs smaller teams.
"I think we need regulations like reducing testing, we shouldn't be testing during the season, plus longer-life engines," he is quoted by Autosport.
"That will reduce costs, and I don't think anyone can argue that shouldn't be the way we go.
"Formula One does need to control costs, but how you actually achieve that I don't know.
"We have two-race engines and we should possibly expand that – everyone has been able to cope with it.
"Obviously Formula One needs the smaller teams in it. At the moment it is incredibly competitive, and we're regularly qualifying well under two seconds off the quickest lap time – and we do that off $120 million.
"So why are teams spending $500 million? You can blatantly have a competitive series with cars that we produce which, let's face it, three or four years ago would have been middle to top ranked cars."