There is a storm in a teacup in Monaco this morning over a tyre test that took place in Barcelona after the Spanish GP, involving Mercedes. The team ran both Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton and 1,000km were run as Pirelli tired to do some development work. The team was not aware of what tyres were being used. I understand that Mercedes checked with the FIA before agreeing to the test, and was given the go-ahead as Pirelli’s deal allows for testing but the tyre company does not currently have a suitable chassis and so is allowed to ask teams to help. There will be other tests as well with other teams as the season progresses, but it seems that Red Bull is making a fuss because it was not doing the testing…

It is very clear that Pirelli needs to do development work both for 2013 and 2014 tyres but it does not have a car to use that is sufficiently up-to-date to be useful. The only answer therefore is to use the teams because they cannot ever agree to allow Pirelli to use one chassis or another.

Thus it seems there is less of a story than the gabbling in the paddock suggests.