Jun.26 (GMM) Mario Theissen still thinks the new format for Fridays at grand prix weekends this year failed to deliver its goals.
BMW-Sauber kicked off the season running tester Sebastian Vettel on the opening day of free practice, but team principal Theissen ultimately called the policy off because it overly disadvantaged the team's race drivers.
"There were two goals (of the 2007 format)," the German boss is quoted as saying by the news agency 'sid'.
He explained: "The first was to bring more action to the circuits, and in this aspect there has been a success.
"But the second target was to move some testing to the (GP) Fridays, and this has not really been the case.
"The original concept was to make Friday a day on which we can test new developments as well as young drivers, but the reality is that it is just an extended day of practice," said Theissen.
F1's new Friday format means that teams can run freely without fear of incurring penalties for engine failures, but - combined with tighter limits on private testing - the scrapping of third cars means that the evaluation of young drivers is now much harder.
Theissen, meanwhile, denied rumours that he is considering a promotion within the BMW Group, which would create a vacancy at the helm of the formula one team.
"That is not going to happen," he said, "because I am already in the position that I want to be in."
Written: Wed, 27 Jun 2007 09:39:25
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