Ferrari monitoring 'clear' Verstappen Red Bull 'development' test

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur has raised concerns over Max Verstappen's recent testing of previous cars (TPC), which was conducted ahead of last weekend's Spanish Grand Prix. 

It was revealed going into the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya that Verstappen and Red Bull had been to Imola a few days ahead of the race to conduct a test.

Vasseur has no problem with Verstappen and Red Bull completing a test; however, what the Frenchman is concerned about is that he views it as being for "development" purposes. 

“Over the season, I think we will do probably a bit less than 10 [TPCs],” Vasseur told select media including RacingNews365.

“But you can’t differentiate on these, there’s TPC that you could do with your racing drivers and these, for me, it’s more development than something else when you do a TPC one week before.

“I’m not complaining about them and they are in the regulations and it’s completely okay – it’s more development than something else.

“It’s not to give mileage to Max between Barcelona and Austria that, Tuesday, you do nothing but go along to Imola.”

Policing required?

TPC tests are occasionally conducted by current F1 drivers, although are typically used more to give a junior driver a taste of the pinnacle of motorsport. 

A fine example of this is Mercedes, who have conducted multiple TPCs with its teenage sensation Andrea Kimi Antonelli. 

Alpine has done similar with its reserve driver Jack Doohan, and academy driver Kush Maini. 

With that in mind, Vasseur has suggested that TPC regulations perhaps need looking into to tighten what can, and cannot be done.

“It’s clearly development and what you could do with the young drivers that this permits another approach, it’s giving them the opportunity to sometimes to do mileage for the simulator and so to develop them – it’s another approach,” Vasseur continued. 

“I think, if we have to police it, we will have to split the two aspects – the day we are doing with our drivers and the days that we are doing with the non-racing drivers.”