Force India to miss next F1 test, denies not paying supplier bills

[Doc Austin]

As to letting Manor test with last years thing. If they have had their 2015 entry taken and they are part of the season, of course they can test the '14 car. If they have not been allowed entry into the '15 season then they can't.

I read that they had paid their entry fee, so I suppose they are entered in the championship.

[anfield5]

I read that they had paid their entry fee, so I suppose they are entered in the championship.

Then I guess they can show up in Barcelona and pretty much test what they have - assuming they have people to run the team and drive the car

[Doc Austin]

According to this, Force India is on the way to Barcelona, but all they have in the transporter is a 2014 car.

There has been so much talk and so many excuses that I don't know if they are going to make it or not. At best they will be hanging from a financial thread all year long.

[Doc Austin]

Now it appears Force India is testing with Mercedes reserve driver Pascal Wehrlein as a way of paying it's engine bills. It's hard to imagine the team's regular drivers are too thrilled about this.

Every piece of Force India news has lately been bad news. I would not be shocked if we never see the new car.

[jens]

Then I guess they can show up in Barcelona and pretty much test what they have - assuming they have people to run the team and drive the car

Yep. You can run any car, because in testing the F1 car doesn't need to fit any technical regulations... EXCEPT safety I think.

But in testing we have had at times, when teams indeed have illegal cars, even when they don't know it! Didn't McLaren once have suspension upside down? And Williams was underweight in 2011, thus looking quick?

I think Marussia/Manor is officially entered for the 2015 F1 season and thus can test. However, unlike Force India, the problem is that the team already went to administration and was dissolved. So basically they even do not have a functioning team to participate in the tests, and do not have even the finances! They have to put every basic puzzle together again to even get to the grid.

[AndyL]

Yep. You can run any car, because in testing the F1 car doesn't need to fit any technical regulations... EXCEPT safety I think.

On Sky, Ted Kravitz did make some comment about cars having to be regulation-compliant for testing this year. I can't find anything in the rulebook about that though. I could only see the rules requiring that they must have passed the crash tests, as you said, and that's the same as last year.

But in testing we have had at times, when teams indeed have illegal cars, even when they don't know it! Didn't McLaren once have suspension upside down?

Oh yes that's right, and when they put it on the right way up, the car went slower

[Malbec]

I think Marussia/Manor is officially entered for the 2015 F1 season and thus can test. However, unlike Force India, the problem is that the team already went to administration and was dissolved. So basically they even do not have a functioning team to participate in the tests, and do not have even the finances! They have to put every basic puzzle together again to even get to the grid.

Marussia hasn't been dissolved although it was put into administration, thats why the entity still exists for entry in the 2015 season. Apparently they do have funding of some sort as they claim they are busy preparing a 2015 compliant car although they are likely to miss the first three races.

Once the team is dissolved their entry is nullified which is unfortunately what has happened to Caterham...