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Formula 1
Mercedes has confirmed that they will miss their scheduled 18 inch tyre test at Paul Ricard next week.
The World Champions were due to test the 18 inch tyres being developed by Pirelli for next season in the 2019 mule car. However, Mercedes will no longer run at Paul Ricard, due to be a wet weather test, because of concerns with the budget cap.
Team Principal Toto Wolff explained: “Yes, that’s right. We are trying to make the budget cap which is not trivial.
“And we couldn’t take the costs related to the tyre test and we wouldn’t have been able to send our mechanics on such a long journey.”
James Allison is to take up a new role with Mercedes as Chief Technical Officer, which will see him step back from his day-to-day duties with the reigning champions, with current technology director Mike Elliott stepping up to replace him as Technical Director.
The significant change in structure, which was announced on Friday morning, means that in the coming months Allison will hand over the role he has fulfilled since 2017 to Elliot, and will instead start to focus on the challenges facing the team as F1 prepares to move into a new era with all-new regulations next year.
In his time overseeing the team s technical operations at Brackley, the Silver Arrows are unbeaten in both drivers and constructors championships – but Allison says it s time to move on from that role.