Pirelli say Barcelona tyre test did not favour Mercedes over the other teams

Pirelli have denied their Barcelona tyre test favoured Mercedes over the other Formula 1 teams, reiterating that the rubber used was their 2014 compound.

'The Barcelona test was conducted in cooperation with Mercedes between May 15 and May 17, 2013. The teams made available one car and two first tier drivers, who alternated at the wheel on different days. 'The trials were done with a base compound, not in use this year, and 12 different structures which had never been used in 2013, only one of which with Kevlar. The team did not obtain any advantage with regard to knowledge of the behaviour of the tyres in use in the current championship. 'The type of car used during the tests was the subject of direct discussions between Mercedes and FIA, as shown in the exchange of emails between the team and Pirelli. In particular, Mercedes informed Pirelli that its 2011 car could not be used and that it had already contacted FIA regarding the use of the 2013 car. 'There is no doubt that the questions relating to the vehicle were the exclusive domain of the team and that Pirelli was excluded from these questions (notwithstanding Pirelli's need, from a technical point of view, to have a representative car in terms of impact on the performance of the tyres). 'To confirm that this was an ordinary development test and not aimed at specific interventions, Pirelli made no specific requests about the drivers or about the tyre of Mercedes staff that would be present during the tests and had fielded its normal team for development testing.' Paul Hembery sheds light on test