Max Verstappen, Red Bull, Circuit de Catalunya, 2019

Teams’ queries prompt new FIA measures to enforce fuel limit

2019 F1 season

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Queries from Formula 1 teams has led the FIA to introduce new measures to enforce the sport’s technical rules.

In a letter to teams on Monday last week, the FIA’s head of single-seater matters Nikolas Tombazis confirmed he has received questions regarding the storage of additional fuel within the fuel system via orifices or restrictors.

Article 5.10.5 of the technical regulations states: “Any device, system or procedure the purpose and/or effect of which is to increase the flow rate or to store and recycle fuel after the measurement point is prohibited.”

According to documents seen by RaceFans, Tombazis informed teams that the FIA would consider the storage of any additional volumes of fuel “to contravene article 5.10.5, as they are devices which store and recycle fuel after the FFM [fuel flow meter], even if the total volume outside of the survival cell remains below 0.25 litres (TD/006-19) and additional pressure sensors are fitted.”

Tombazis outlined a series of new steps the FIA will take to ensure compliance with the rules. These will involve teams having to declare two hours before the pit lane opens prior to the start of a race how much fuel they will put in each car for its pre-race reconnaissance laps, the formation lap, the race and post-race in-lap.

As of 2019, the FIA will conduct random checks of cars before and after the race to ensure the amount of fuel teams use complies with the rules and is consistent with the readings the governing body obtains from the cars’ mandatory fuel flow sensors.

Prior to the race the FIA may randomly check the amount of fuel put in a car by requiring a team to perform a ‘drain-out’ of the fuel tank and running its fuel pumps while its telemetry is monitored. The car will be weighed before and after the tank is emptied, while fitted with a set of FIA-stickered travel tyres of known weights.

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The fuel which is removed will then be returned to the car and a third weight reading taken. After this the car’s fuel hatches or quick discharge systems will be sealed to prevent its fuel level being altered.

A similar post-race check may also be carried out at random using the same set of travel tyres to ensure a consistent measurement.

Per the documents shown to RaceFans, teams have been advised they may be judged not to be in compliance with the rules if any of the following discrepancies are observed:

1. If the fuel pump-out procedure differs from the declared and documented process that the team is required to communicate to the FIA in advance.
2. If a significant volume of fuel is found in the car after the fuel has been pumped out using the above procedure.
3. If the team fails to make a fuel mass declaration more than two hours before the pit lane opens, or if the declared amount of fuel is significantly different to what gets drained in the event of a random check.
4. If the comparison between the integrated fuel flow meter signal and the measured fuel mass consumption shows the former to be lower than the latter.
5. If the fuel mass used for the race, assessed with the car weight comparison, exceeds 110kg, as required by Article 30.5 of the F1 Sporting Regulations.
6. If software inspections and/or data analysis show significant operational differences between qualifying and the race

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14 comments on “Teams’ queries prompt new FIA measures to enforce fuel limit”

  1. Sounds like someone has already planned something “unique”?

    Maybe that’s why one car is yet to arrive – redesign of fuel systems.

    1. This must surely be aimed at one of the engine manufacturers? Which one I wonder….

  2. It seems so simple – fuel flow meter and max fuel load – but based on all these directives and necessary checks it is clearly much more complex to close all the loopholes.

    In this instance it might be better to go the opposite direction and let the fuel flow restriction go.
    Less rules means less restrictions and less time spending on finding loopholes, and more genuine innovation.

    1. Exactly @coldfly – it seems F1 is hell bent on adding more restrictions which in turn reduces any chance of a low/midfield team of doing a Brawn and making a sudden jump up the rankings.

      If F1 truly wants to “improve the show” then let’s open up the regulations to allow for all manner of innovations and give some new smart thinkers a chance. Can you imagine some of the crazy things we’d see…

    2. @coldfly – agreed. I’d just like to see a max fuel load (and maybe a min fuel load as well, to prevent underfuelling – “use it or you just carry it to the flag”), and let the teams do with it as they wish.

    3. But FIA needs to stay important. Why make clear rules if you can make fuzzy rules.

  3. Seems unnecessarily complex.
    Also

    teams having to declare two hours before the pit lane opens prior to the start of a race how much fuel they will put in each car for its pre-race reconnaissance laps, the formation lap, the race and post-race in-lap

    means teams can’t react to condition changes just before the race?

  4. Hey FIA, here’s an idea: on Friday morning give each team two containers with X liters of fuel, one for each car. Teams can only use this fuel during the whole weekend. Done.

    1. Jelle van der Meer (@)
      19th February 2019, 11:39

      Sorry but that is a very bad suggestion and will achieve nothing, it actually will make things worse.
      It might sound simple but it just means teams do less practice/qualifying running to keep more fuel for the race.

      Above article just shows how creative/genius the F1 teams are – it is always a cat/mouse game with F1 teams generally ahead of the FIA. The F1 teams come up with solutions/loopholes that even the most experienced FIA person couldn’t think of.

      FIA puts in max fuel load and fuel flow – with measurement. Ok, we will build in extra storage passed the fuel flow meter so that in that 1 qualifying lap extra fuel is available without exceeding the max fuel flow. It is no different than Mercedes/Ferrari extra use of motor oil in their party mode.

      Most tricky is how to check the teams on this – checks can only be performed in pits and before or after the race. So if you have a system that only works when driven but not when standing still – it becomes very hard to discover it. No different than flexible wings that only bend above certain down force levels or VW Dieselgate test manipulating software.

      1. Storing the fuel outside the fuel tank was already against the regulations; I’m surprised teams were playing this particular trick.

        The rest is classic, as you describe.

  5. I don’t understand how this addresses the issue, unless I’ve misunderstood what the issue is.

    I thought that the problem was that an unscrupulous team could build up a small amount of fuel after the flow meter, and then use it to generate a short burst of extra power. This way you could exceed the instantaneous flow rate restriction for a short time without going over it in the long term. All that this new procedure appears to address is the overall use.

    It’s like measuring the total time and distance for a journey and then saying that you couldn’t have broken the speed limit because on average you were legal.

    1. The last item, “6. If software inspections and/or data analysis show significant operational differences between qualifying and the race” (I think there’s supposed to be more in this item) is probably the significant one. The FIA should be checking to see if the software controlling the fuel injectors allows fuel to be injected at a higher rate than the fuel flow limit.
      The drivers have a fuel to air ratio adjustment, so if they’re told to “lift and coast” then presumably they select a leaner fuel to air ratio, and when they’re starting the race or doing a hot lap in Qualifying then they select a richer fuel to air ratio. Whether the fuel flow is richer or leaner, the engine management software should be restricting the maximum fuel consumption at any RPM so as to not exceed the fuel flow limit.
      As I think about this, it sounds like there’s a telemetry from the engine showing the actual amount of fuel being consumed by the engine. Maybe the broadcasters might like to put that onto the TV.

  6. Luke Longnecker
    19th February 2019, 14:17

    Fuel limits were a mistake. :(

  7. The fuel flow meters are a necessary evil I am afraid. Those of you who think otherwise don’t know enough about the complexities of the engine regulations and need to do some more homework. Once you’ve done your homework, please present your better solution on a postcard (with technical justification)!

    FYI: All of the teams (even the smaller budget ones) recognise the importance of them in policing the powertrain regulations.

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