This winter, a new theory on illegal performance improvement went around and there has been talk of an illegal accumulator, which can store up to 0.1 litres of fuel between the flow measurement of the FIA and the high-pressure pump. For example, in the Q3 laps, more fuel could be injected during acceleration than allowed. According to expert calculations, this results in 4.5 percent more power and the secret reservoir could have been filled when driving at partial load.
In recent years, the FIA has been bombarded again and again with inquiries on this subject. The doubters are shooting in all directions, hoping to hit. As reporetd by AMuS, an engineer said: “This winter there have been more technical directives on this subject than ever before.” As a reaction to the suspicions, the rule keepers try step by step to exclude grey areas, loopholes or possible illegal series of tricks. “We have become stricter in all areas where engine manufacturers could theoretically overstep the mark,” confirms FIA Formula One Race Director Charlie Whiting.
For some time now, fuel pipes have been investigated for their flexibility and possible hidden reservoirs. For this purpose, the FIA has equipped itself with state-of-the-art measurement technology. This accumulator is now limited to 0.1 litres. The teams have begged this with the argument that a buffer is needed to compensate for pressure peaks in the fuel flow. This allows the teams an additional tank outside the safety cell to maintain the operation of the engine in case of pressure fluctuations. Originally the quantity was limited to one litre. Now it is only 0.2 liters.
No oil in additional tank
According to AMuS, the FIA has introduced a new weighing procedure to prevent teams from using more fuel than allowed and this year the maximum weight is 100 kilograms per race distance. This measure, which affects a different team at each Grand Prix, is a safety check, so to speak. It serves to confirm the flow rate measurements. The elaborate process shows how serious the FIA is about the accusations that more fuel may be injected than allowed.
One hour before the pit lane opens on race day, the FIA commissioners take a car, weigh it with the amount of fuel chosen by the team, pump out the fuel, weigh the car empty and the amount of fuel pumped out separately and have the tank refilled. The same procedure is carried out after the race. If there is a difference to the flow rates determined by means of the measuring valve, the team is in trouble. During the check on the FIA scale, the car must be fitted with marked control tyres so that the teams do not hide weights in the tyres in between to compensate for a fuel fraud. The FIA has already practiced this procedure three times in 2018. Mercedes, Scuderia Ferrari and Red Bull each had to park a car for the last three Grand Prix of the season. New this year there also is another measure and it concerns oil consumption again. This is limited to 0.6 litres per 100 kilometres, but somehow the FIA does not trust it. In the race, the oil consumption can be calculated quite accurately due to the long distance. For a qualifying round this is more difficult because of the small quantities. Small measurement errors for the output of the engines can make big differences. That’s why the FIA has now decided that for the qualification on Saturday, the additional oil tank must be completely empty.
The FIA will also control cars more strictly than ever before. Over the winter, FIA technical director Nikolas Tombazis received all CAD drawings of the new cars from all teams and asked the engineers questions. These meetings took up to three hours and had the purpose of helping the FIA better understand the concepts in order to prevent any illegal fuel filling system from being used.
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