Red Bull, Ferrari to 'go private' rather that do Young Driver test?

The two teams most vocally opposed to Mercedes' participation in Pirelli's development programme are rumoured to be considering their own 'private' sessions, rather than joining the rest of the F1 field at this year's Young Driver test

Frustrated by the FIA Tribunal's failure to mete out 'serious punishment' to Mercedes in the wake of its three-day, 1000km, Barcelona outing with the tyre supplier, both Red Bull and Ferrari have hinted that they may be prepared to conduct their own versions of the session in the knowledge that they will escape with a slap on the wrist and not a financial or championship penalty.

According to Britain's Times newspaper, both teams have informed F1 ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone of their disappointment at the weak response from the governing body, while Red Bull have also said that 'they would take the risk of a reprimand - the punishment meted out to Mercedes - for the benefit of three days of testing.' Ferrari is not thought as likely to push ahead with plans to run privately, despite making public its frustration at the outcome of last week's Tribunal.

"Today we learned, that even if one is guilty and in this case that is an indisputable and verified fact, there is always a way of muddling through as best one can," the team's anonymous blogger wrote on its 'Horse Whisperer' column, "One only has to suggest to the judge what the penalty should be and, even better, why not make it something light like a rap across the knuckles."

While Red Bull has yet to make a public response to the Tribunal's decision to reprimand Mercedes and bar it from next month's Young Driver test at Silverstone, team boss Christian Horner could not resist making comments about his rival's decision to 'relax the rules' during last week's OPENHOUSE event at RBR headquarters.

The Young Driver test has been scheduled to fill the gap between the German and Hungarian grands prix, over the 17-19 July, but the threats issued by Red Bull and, possibly, Ferrari could result in a situation similar to 2012 where all eleven teams do not run at the same time and, potentially, don't offer the same opportunities to up-and-coming talent which the Silverstone session is designed to provide.