McLaren could test with Pirelli at Vallelunga in November
Pirelli and McLaren were considering conducting tests for the 2014 tires in Austin in November, but after the refusal to hold these tests, both parties are expected to turn to the Vallelunga circuit near Rome to successfully carry out this testing session.
After the tests conducted by Pirelli and Mercedes, which had caused a scandal, after the Spanish Grand Prix in May, Ferrari had in turn conducted tire tests for the Italian manufacturer a few weeks ago.
The McLaren team had also shown interest, and a session was scheduled at the Austin circuit, which will host the United States Grand Prix on November 17. However, some teams and the FIA reportedly vetoed these tests as it could have given the Woking team an advantage before the race scheduled in Austin.
After trying this refusal, Pirelli and McLaren selected another track, Vallelunga near Rome. These 1000 km tests are expected to take place on November 11 and 12 with a two-year-old single-seater, likely with one of McLaren’s test or reserve drivers – Oliver Turvey, Gary Paffett, or Kevin Magnussen. However, this test still needs to receive approval from the FIA.
Sam Michael also stated at Suzuka to Reuters that it is not the race team that will manage these tests: « We will use our heritage group [which runs the historical cars] to run this single-seater, it is an old single-seater that we use for demos and this kind of events. »
Additionally, according to Auto Motor und Sport, Pirelli allegedly invited the other teams to attend these tests.
