Total different topic; fuel load in F1

[Nicolai Nicholson]

Hi guys. I made this thread because there is one thing in f1 that I do not understand, perhaps some of you can enlighten me?

My question does not reflect who I root for in f1, it is purely an objective observation.

So here goes:
At Nürburgring on Sunday I believe Alonso did not have enough fuel to return the car to park ferme after finishing the race. This is the second time in recent years I have seen this (I cannot remember who it was last time.)

My point is, a car that does not have enough fuel to return to the pits would be 0,1-3 kg lighter than his competitors throughout the race. That sounds to me like a HUGE advantage.

I do not understand that one does not receive a penalty for this, and I do not understand why Coulthard, Brundle and Jordan does not address the issue at the BBC.

Or is it just me that are missing something?

 

[Bob Laube]

Hi Nico,

I think it must be at least 1 kg in the car
to the fia to give the possibility to check the fuel.
Everything else does not matter, but it is not so easy to precisely
calculate how much is splashing around still in the end.

Greez
STUNTMAN BOB

 

[Sean Greenlaw]

I know the rule was changed for q when hamilton run out end of q 1 time. I dont thinks theres anything in rules that says you have to complete back to pits after flag, just a rule you need enough to provide sample, probably this rule needs tweeked lol.
How much full would they use to in the cool down lap surely they could change map etc and use next to no fuel that lap to making the advantage small. Would be funny to see everyone stop just after flag this race then rule changed lol.

 

[David McCradic]

I believe the rule regarding returning to the pits under your own power is exclusively for qualifying.

Fuel weighs about 0.7kg/l, and one liter is all that is required for the fuel test.. so probably not much advantage, since all teams run less fuel than they could complete the race using full power.

 

[Jim Hawley]

Gone are the days when drivers would get out and push their car over the line:frown: *sigh*


I would guess that Ferrari told him to cut the engine to keep enough in the tank for testing and keep some weight in, I think all you need to do is get over the line, no rule say's you must drive it back around to parc ferme, a car that stops out on track would be effectively in parc ferme under the supervision of the race marshals

Jim

 

[Nicolai Nicholson]

Thank you for your answers

I understand that I might have over-estimated the amount of fuel needed to return to the pits, especially considering it only weighs 0,7kg/liter.

Never the less, even if the car only use 1 liter on the in lap, it will be 0,7kg lighter the whole race if they plan to stop the car right after passing the goal line because of having only 1 liter fuel left.

 

[Chris Vick]

True, but that is a very risky strategy. Even with the best designs, you cannot get all the fuel out of the tank while pulling high G maneuvers. Cut it too close, and the engine stops before the end, and you are stuck (no starter after all). I suspect that even in F1 they do not cut it that close.

 

[David McCradic]

As strange as it may seem, it is more efficient to run with less fuel weight and less power in a fuel saving mode than it is to run with more fuel weight and full power. They really do cut it that close, it is race-long fuel management.

 

[Chris Vick]

They manage it carefully, but they are required to have 1L of fuel for testing at the end of the race. Running with less than a litre would be both risky that the car would stop, and would lead to a disqualification. Alonso's stop on track was to ensure that he still had 1L left for testing. Since a lap is usually 3-4L I can see where they plan on 4L left, and end with only 2, so they have to stop to not be DQ'd, but planning to shut down right at the line to have exactly 1L left would be more precision than I suspect that they have, and would also make stopping in the last corner from G starvation likely. That was my point.

 

[David McCradic]

Very fair point. The risk of finishing 4th instead of 3rd is much better than the risk of being disqualified.

 

[Nicolai Nicholson]

Look at it this way. Assumue you use exactly 4 liters a lap. There is exactly 2 laps left + inlap and you have 9 liters left. You are right behind and right ahead of two cars. Do you ask your driver to floor it or to take it a bit easy to make sure you get back to the pits after finishing the race

 

[Bob Laube]

It is not by volume, it is measured by weight in formula 1 !