Spyker technical director James Key has played down the potential disadvantage of not joining F1’s other ten teams for the nine days of pre-Christmas testing.
Pre-season running kicked off without the Silverstone-based team at Barcelona last week, and Key confirmed on Tuesday that Spyker will also skip the seven test days this month at Jerez due to the team’s switch to Ferrari power for 2007.
He said installation of the Maranello based squad’s V8 is ‘so different’ from the Toyota that it would require an interim car; an expense that does not justify the benefits of trying Bridgestone’s new tyres.
“It would be nice to go out and test, but we’re happy getting on with things in the factory,” he insisted, adding that the 2007 Spyker will be a ‘conservative’ design that is based on the M16.
Key added: “You’ve potentially got tests in March, shakedowns and so on, so there’s still plenty of time.”
Despite Spyker’s conspicuous absence on the Spanish test tracks, however, Key revealed that the budget for 2007 has been ‘improved’ compared with that of previous team owner Midland.
GMMF1
DailyF1News.com
