Friday testing an unfair advantage?

Friday testing on a race weekend was an option that was aimed at cost-cutting but now there are mutterings that it will give an unfair tyre advantage to the teams that chose it. Those that have the test session on Friday mornings can gather tyre information, while other teams will have to make a choice without the benefit of knowing the track conditions. Teams that didn't pick the Friday test option have to choose their tyre compound before scruitneering on Thursdays.

Apparently the other benefits of testing on a Friday didn't occur to those who saw it only as a money saving measure. The Friday test was an option open to all teams and some were puzzled why Renault -- a team not as cash strapped as Minardi and Jordan, who were the others that chose the Friday test -- would decide to go for limited testing. It seems money was not the point.

According to Autosport, one un-named team boss grumbled: "The testing on Friday was supposed to be a cost-cutting device, not a means for Renault to work its way through a lot of different tyre constructions before making its choice mid-morning."

Renault boss Flavio Briatore is just making the most of his options: "We have two hour's testing at the place you race, so for tyre choice it is much better," he said. "A lot of people did not think about doing this because they thought it was for the low budget teams."

This week, in a last minute change of heart, Jaguar has now also opted for Friday testing. The team hopes the extra two hours on race weekends will save money and give its drivers, especially rookie Antonio Pizzonia, a chance to get used to the circuits.

Tyres were also a consideration to Jaguar: "The new framework will also allow us to better exploit the Michelin tyre development programme," said spokesman Nav Sidhu.