FIA Agrees to In-Season Testing Ban Exception for Rookie Drivers

Formula One reserve drivers for the upcoming season will not have to go through the same problems as the ones in 2009 in terms of debuting in Formula One. More exactly, they will be given the chance to do a proper test on the F1 machineries prior to their official debut, in case their teams decided to field them during the season.

In 2009, Jaime Alguersuari, Romain Grosjean, Luca Badoer and Kamui Kobayashi were all forced to step into their team's challenger without any prior knowledge of it. That move was severely criticized the drivers and the teams, as both have raised safety issues in the lack-of-testing policy implemented by the FIA during the in-season.

As for the 2010 regulations, the ruling body accepted to tweak the rule book a little beat, allowing the reserve drivers who haven't competed in a race throughout the last 2 years of Formula One to conduct a complete testing session prior to their debut.

“If a team declares that one of its current race drivers is to be substituted by a driver who has not participated in an F1 race in the two previous calendar years, one day of track testing will be permitted between the start of the week preceding second Event and the last Event of the Championship,” says the new rule book of the 2010 Formula One Championship.

“The following must be observed: Any such day may only be carried out by the new driver and may not take place on a circuit hosting a race in the current Championship year. Any such day may only take place within a period 14 days prior to the substitution and 14 days after the substitution has taken place.”

“If a team, having declared the driver's substitution and performed the test, does not then enter an Event with the new driver, the team will be penalized by a reduction of one day from the pre-season track testing days available in the following year.”