Eric Boullier wants Mercedes penalty as Lotus struggle in Canada
Lotus team principal Eric Boullier speaks to the media in Canada. Photo: Andrew Ferraro - Credit: Archant
Lotus team principal Eric Boullier believes Mercedes should be penalised for their Formula One tyre test with Pirelli.
Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen stops in the Montreal pits. Photo: Andrew Ferraro - Credit: Archant
The FIA has announced Mercedes will face an independent international tribunal on June 20, after seemingly contravening the sporting regulations.
Red Bull and Ferrari protested Mercedes' use of a 2013 car to assist Pirelli in a 1,000km test used mostly to run next year's tyres, held in Barcelona last month.
Should Mercedes be found guilty, a range of penalties is open to the tribunal with the smart money at present being a points deduction.
'It's good to have a hearing, parties talking officially, and then we will see the outcome of this,' said Boullier, speaking before the weekend's racing. 'But there is clearly a breach somewhere, and then you expect to see a sanction.
'Fundamentally for me there is a big issue, which is a breach of the sporting code. Testing is banned. You have a sporting code and a testing agreement signed by all the teams.
'Clearly, testing today is key in some way. Limited mileage forces you to change the process you design your car, the way you race. For many years performance was just aero, aero, aero, aero.
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'Now you still need aero, but for the first time you need to consider the management of the tyres to make your weekend a success.
'So by doing testing you have a serious gain of the understanding of the tyres, and that's something which is not fair.'
Putting pressure on Mercedes' situation is clearly in Lotus' interest, given they sit 20 points behind the sivler arrows in the constructors' championship following Sunday's race in Montreal.
Kimi Raikkonen pocketed only ninth place in Canada, while Romain Grosjean was 13th as Hethel-backed Lotus continued to struggle building on their earlier form.
Next up is Enstone's home race, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on June 30.
