D&T (Development & Test) OpportunitiesD&T (Development & Test) opportunities are where you upgrade your current car, design your next car, and perform other miscellaneous tasks.
All teams may perform as many development & testing opportunities as there are weeks between events (a total of forty opportunities; the winter break between seasons having been halved for gameplay balance-reasons). Refer to the calendar at the start of the thread for a listing of where D&T opportunities fall within the season schedule.
'New for 1986!'™ > With inflation rising, suppliers have increased their cost of materials and service fees, resulting in increased D&T opportunity costs.
All D&T (development & testing) opportunities cost £80,000 each, multiplied by the number of cars in your team. The cost goes up for the next D&T opportunity, each time, by an additional £20,000, multiplied by the number of cars in your team. This is designed to work on a 'paying increasing amounts for smaller and smaller improvements' model. All car improvements are applied to all your cars.
So, a single car team will pay £80k for their first D&T opportunity, £100k for the next one, £120k for the one after that, etc. A two car team will pay £160k for their first D&T opportunity, £200k for the next one, £240k for the one after that, etc.
The more cars you run in your team, the higher the development rewards will be.
The cost of your next D&T opportunity is listed at the start of the thread, under each team's car data. For reference, complete lists of the costs of all forty D&T opportunities for all team sizes are listed below:
One-car team
- £80,000
- £100,000
- £120,000
- £140,000
- £160,000
- £180,000
- £200,000
- £220,000
- £240,000
- £260,000
- £280,000
- £300,000
- £320,000
- £340,000
- £360,000
- £380,000
- £400,000
- £420,000
- £440,000
- £460,000
- £480,000
- £500,000
- £520,000
- £540,000
- £560,000
- £580,000
- £600,000
- £620,000
- £640,000
- £660,000
- £680,000
- £700,000
- £720,000
- £740,000
- £760,000
- £780,000
- £800,000
- £840,000
- £860,000
- £880,000
Two-car team
- £160,000
- £200,000
- £240,000
- £280,000
- £320,000
- £360,000
- £400,000
- £440,000
- £480,000
- £520,000
- £560,000
- £600,000
- £640,000
- £680,000
- £720,000
- £760,000
- £800,000
- £840,000
- £880,000
- £920,000
- £960,000
- £1,000,000
- £1,040,000
- £1,080,000
- £1,120,000
- £1,160,000
- £1,200,000
- £1,240,000
- £1,280,000
- £1,320,000
- £1,360,000
- £1,400,000
- £1,440,000
- £1,480,000
- £1,520,000
- £1,560,000
- £1,600,000
- £1,640,000
- £1,680,000
- £1,720,000
Three-car team
- £240,000
- £300,000
- £360,000
- £420,000
- £480,000
- £540,000
- £600,000
- £660,000
- £720,000
- £780,000
- £840,000
- £900,000
- £960,000
- £1,020,000
- £1,080,000
- £1,140,000
- £1,200,000
- £1,260,000
- £1,320,000
- £1,380,000
- £1,440,000
- £1,500,000
- £1,560,000
- £1,620,000
- £1,680,000
- £1,740,000
- £1,800,000
- £1,860,000
- £1,920,000
- £1,980,000
- £2,040,000
- £2,100,000
- £2,160,000
- £2,220,000
- £2,280,000
- £2,340,000
- £2,400,000
- £2,460,000
- £2,520,000
- £2,580,000
What D&T opportunities are there?Design of new carAt any point before the first race of the next season, you may begin developing your new car. Once the first race of the next season begins, this new car becomes your current car, and the cycle repeats. Utilise this D&T opportunity over-and-over to improve the final quality of your new car; the more times you do it, the better you car for next year will be. For next year's car, you need not mention, nor cannot focus on, specific areas - it is a randomised process.
Development of current carYou may choose an area of focus for testing and development of your current car, which will result in an appropriate improvement. Possible directions of current car development:
- Increase downforce
- Reduce drag
- Increase mechanical grip
- Reduce weight
- Increase reliability
- Neutralize handling
Development of works and semi-works engineThis opportunity is only available to teams with works or semi-works engine deals. Performing this D&T opportunity will improve your engine in the direction of development specified for the engine; the direction of each engine's development can be found
at the start of the thread. Works teams are free to change the direction of their engine's development any time they like; semi-works teams have no say in the direction of development of their engine.
Development of tyre specificationThis opportunity is only available to teams with works or semi-works tyre deals. Performing this D&T opportunity will improve either your supplier's dry, or wet, tyre specification; whether the dry or wet spec is improved is dependent on the weather of the test session, which is entirely random. Specification data on tyres with development opportunities are available
at the start of the thread.
Driver developmentNominate one of your drivers to undergo an intensive session with a driver trainer, working on their psychology and fitness, with a detailed analysis of their driving technique, style and habits in the cockpit, to look for improvements. The result will be a small, permanent improvement in your driver's performance.
Driver shoot-outSelect up-to six drivers, either from your team or unsigned on the market, and have them complete a test day in your identically-prepared car(s). You will receive the lap time results from the session, to aid comparison of their skills.
Team expansion – from one car to two cars, or from two cars to three carsCurrently, one, two and three-car teams are legal. If you are a one-car team who wish to begin entering two cars per race, or a two-car team who wish to begin entering three cars per race, this D&T opportunity is a prerequisite. The time and cost is used for preparation, and the acquisition of required parts, equipment, logistics, etc. for the additional car. Attempting to enter an additional car into a race without first utilising this D&T opportunity will result in Mr Ecclestone personally standing in front of your car with his arms folded, preventing it from leaving its pit garage.
Team contraction - from three cars to two cars, or from two cars to one carIf you wish to reduce the size of your entry, use this D&T opportunity to do so. The cost of the D&T opportunity is waived entirely, offering no timing advantage or disadvantage. You will be credited an amount composited from the value of your current car; the surplus car and its running gear is auctioned and/or liquidated off. For reference, below are two examples of the estimated income a team would be provided with, upon contracting the size of their team:
- Chassis specification of 20% Downforce, 80% Drag, 20% Mechanical Grip, 570kg Weight (significantly overweight), 20% Reliability, 80% Understeer/Oversteer = credit of £850,000.
- Chassis specification of 80% Downforce, 20% Drag, 80% Mechanical Grip, 520kg Weight (minimum legal weight), 80% Reliability, 20% Understeer/Oversteer = credit of £3,360,000.
Contracting your team will never result in a team losing money on the deal, regardless of how poor or outdated your current car may be.