Mercedes ready to appear before tribunal

Formula One team suspected of breaking rules with tyre test.

LONDON: Mercedes welcomed a decision by Formula One’s governing body to send them to a tribunal for allegedly breaking the testing rules, saying they would explain the full facts ‘in an open and transparent manner’.

“Sporting integrity is of primary importance to Mercedes-Benz and we have the utmost confidence in the due process of the [International Automobile Federation] FIA,” the team said in a statement ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix.

Mercedes took part in what has been dubbed a ‘secret’ 1,000km test with tyre supplier Pirelli in Barcelona last month, ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix won by their German driver Nico Rosberg.

The FIA announced on Wednesday that the matter had been handed to their international tribunal, who could impose stiff sanctions if Mercedes are found to have broken rules that ban teams from testing with current cars during the season.



Mercedes described it as a Pirelli test, and Rosberg – who took part in it with teammate Lewis Hamilton – said the Italian company were in complete control of the track activities.

“It was a full on Pirelli test — they dictate what we do,” he told Britain’s Sky Sports television.

“We have no say whatsoever — they say you are doing that, that, that and that and the engineers that they have run our programme.

“So it is not for us to learn anything or to decide on anything that we do,” added Rosberg.

Ferrari, who also took part in a Pirelli test in April, were cleared of any wrongdoing on Wednesday because they used a 2011 car run by their customer division rather than the race team.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 7^th, 2013.