Fuel Consumption down the grid

Indeed - They're still gonna stop - Strategy will still play it's part.

Respectfully disagree on that - The system was put in place to get 'em out on the track for longer in quali, and that still applies - Watching an empty track for the first 45 minutes of quali really sucked a few years back..... Put 'em on fumes, and let 'em at it - I'm looking forward to it.

Cheers,
Ian

 

I'm trying to make it more exciting than it is, but a back marker may go very light assuming there will be an accident at a track that is known for them. I suspect we will see a few cars run out of gas with a lap or so to go throughout the season. Heartbreak will ensue.

 

Are we still pitting for tire changes? If so, what's the point of not fueling? Safety?

 

Yeah, safety is part of it. No gas = no "burn outs".

I look forward to seeing who can set up their car to manage a changing fuel load.

Brings back some driver input and skill that has been missing to the cockpit IMO.

 

The main reason the FIA banned refuelling is to cut costs. No rigs + spare rigs whatsoever to transfer from country to country.

 

+ less personnel required as you no longer require a refueling team.

It also forces the teams to make their cars more fuel efficient.

In the past, if everybody else could finish the race on 200 litres of fuel but your car needed 220 litres, you just put more fuel in it during the stops.

Now if you need more fuel than anybody else, there's a good chance you're not going to finish many races.

This is a major concern to Ferrari who, as the graphs show, have one of, if not the, thirstiest cars on the grid.

 

I can only think of Aerodynamics at high speed, we know it can't of been because the engine was bad that Mclaren started so badly, so there can only be aerodynamics that caused the problem. If the car doesn't cut through the air as efficiently as possible then the engine has to work harder to make up for the lack of aerodynamics.

I might be wrong, but thats just my take on what it could be.

 

you can also add in different gearing, different drivers, different mechanical and aero balance.

 

Yes....That.

 

i too find this disconcerting. merc has always been a car that they fill up on friday and drive it all weekend. if things don't change ferrari could have jesus drivng and still lose.

 

Was that in Bild?

 

So what happens to new engine manufacturers like Cosworth, they have developed new engines and thus avoided a freeze in technology. Teams should be allowed to start again otherwise Cosworth could and will be better placed.

Also the ECU's are standard made by mclaren?

 

If they all have the same guidelines, then how will Cos have the advantage? Surely the Ferrari engines are being currently manufactured and not year old engines, but year old design specs that are the same as Cos.

 

They did, but he came back as a Merc driver.

 

If you follow that rule then all the engines would produce the same power and be indentical. They have quite subtle differences, what cosworth may have is an advantage due to updated technology and manufacturing processes.

 

Without having the BSFC curves for the engines it seems like data like this is really unimportant. Brawn seems to be significantly above average while Red Bull & McLaren are below average.

Consumption is just one of the variables in the equation (and probably less important than something like "average power in the usuable rev range" or CoD/CoL).

 

I thought of that also. I can't imagine Ferrari not having the most current and best mfg stuff. My guess is that the mfg that can follow the rules but get the most hp and fuel economy will have the best engine.

I hope Cosworth is very strong. All the backmarkers need all the help they can get. 1 podium the entire season by one of the new teams would be miraculous.

 

I would imagine all of them have subtantial resources, but they all have different design routes which is why they have different performances.

You cannot have an engine freeze for one half of the grid while accepting new entrants who have been allowed to produce new car/engines.

If one engine gets more power the FIA threaten to cap it, what sort of rules are they.

It called manipulation in my book.

I agree and hope the new teams fair well in the new season. Personally i think they will struggle to understand the complex [and unnecesary] rules

 

Unless they get their maths wrong, all they have to do is install a larger tank. Why would they not finish a race?

They are expecting 250L tanks for 2010.

 

Naturally the cars will have bigger fuel tanks but if you need 30Kilo's more fuel than anybody else due to poor fuel consumption, you're not going to be challenging for a race win.

The engineers will try to work out what is the least amount of fuel required to finish the race safely whilst being competitive and that will be that. But if your car has a high fuel consumption rate and gets put under attack from a car with a low consumption rate, those calculations could soon go pear shape and you'll struggle to finish.

 

it's not that simple. like the man said, you have to look at BSFC.

 

Okay, then why are Ferrari so concerned about their high fuel consumption going into 2010 if it's going to make no real difference in races next year?.

They'd already admitted that their strategies in 2009 had been compromised by the high fuel consumption rate and that they needed to improve it for the following season if they wanted to be competitive.

 

Well, surely they do know their car's BSFC. We as outsiders can't draw conclusions from the charts provided in this thread.

 

Guys, i really wonder what if, a driver/team mis-calculate the strategy, and actually almost run outta fuel with say 2-3 laps remaining. If they opt to pit for fuel, would there be any penalty?

 

since there won't be any fuel in the pits, yeah the penalty would be pretty severe.