Mercedes has been banned from 2013 young driver test, and given a reprimand following being found to have violated rules and the International Sporting Code by carry out a Pirelli tyre test using its 2013 F1 car.
And also, the FIA Tribunal's penalties declaration for Mercedes, the main title contender Ferrari criticised that the Mercedes' test penalty as 'perplexing' and successfully letting Mercedes off "scot free" in the "tyregate" dispute over illegal testing on Friday.
"The verdict, I believe, was right, they (the International Tribunal) found them (Mercedes) guilty of breaking the sporting regulations and the sporting code. What is slightly confusing is the leniency of the penalty, which I would have thought was met with a huge sigh of relief at Brackley.” Christian Horner is quoted by Sporting Life
"They even suggested the penalty they would like to receive, which they duly received, and that's it. That's what it is. By breaching (article) 151 of the sporting regulations, it's clear a team is gaining an advantage, and by doing that there should be some kind of sporting penalty that reflects that."
"The significance of a young driver test, yes, it's probably annoying for them to miss it. But it pales into insignificance compared to the benefit you would see from running race drivers around a track for 1,000 kilometres on a circuit rubbered in two days after a grand prix weekend. The problem with the penalty such as the one Mercedes have been given is that it is not a particularly strong deterrent to break the sporting regulations."
