FIA president Jean Todt admits that bringing refuelling back to F1 is still on the agenda

In May last year, F1's controversial Strategy Group agreed that refuelling, which was dropped in 2009, would return to the sport in 2017, in an effort to "improve the show".

The return of the practice was one of several decision to come out of a meeting of the group and was aimed at spicing up the sport at a time fans were turning away from F1 along with sponsors.

However, refuelling was dropped at the end of 2009 not only on the grounds of cost and safety, but also the feeling that it was harming the spectacle, turning races into a series of sprints with pit strategy, as opposed to outright lights-to-flag racing deciding the final order.

Sure enough, meeting in Montreal over the Canadian Grand Prix weekend, the teams rejected the return of refuelling on the grounds of cost, safety and the feeling that it leads to processional racing.

Speaking at Silverstone over the British Grand Prix weekend, Force India's deputy team principal Bob Fernley told Reuters the plan was essentially dead and buried.

"The view collectively was that it's not going to improve the show and the decision was not to go forward with that," he said.

However, with its finger very much on the pulse, the FIA's president Jean Todt today admitted that the return of refuelling is still being considered.

"Yes, it is true," the Frenchman told reporters in Birmingham. "If you have some doubt about something, and personally and honestly I have a doubt, talking with the working group meeting we readdress is it right not to have refuelling?

"You know the reason why it was banned?" he continued. "It was the cost of carrying the fuel rig. Now we are in a kind of modern area where we know how it works.

"We are talking about 50,000 euros a year," he argued. "If it is good for the show, I'm in favour of reducing the cost but that is not a key point on the global cost of Formula 1. At least we should discuss it."

Williams Pat Symonds was unimpressed.

"It costs a hell of a lot more than 50,000 euros per team to bring back refuelling," he told Reuters. "It wouldn't even pay the freight, let alone buying the equipment and maintaining it. And you've got to have one person looking after that equipment. There's your 50,000 euros gone and more before you've done anything else.

"When we had refuelling the strategies were far more deterministic than they are now," he added. "At the moment, you can alter your strategy just based on what your tyres are doing and vary things as you wish. The moment you've got refuelling, you can't vary your strategy. You obviously can't stop any later than you are fuelled for and if you stop earlier, you are paying a ridiculous penalty.

"When we got rid of refuelling, I think you got a lot better racing as a result," he concluded. "I'd be very sorry to see it come back."

Not for the first time, Mr Symonds is not alone.

LATEST NEWS

more news >

LATEST IMAGES

galleries >

Click to go to the main galleries section

READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by bfairey, 17/01/2016 12:56

"Hey you let that comment by nonickname go!!!!"

Rating: Neutral (0) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

2. Posted by edllorca, 16/01/2016 21:45

"HAve tese peorple (FIA teams) forgotten all about basic racing? Maybe the conversatioon should be about enough fuel and tires to race flat out the whole race, take all the telemetry off the cars, throw the ridculous pitwall booths in the trash and get back to wheel to wheel racing. Its all the money, the strategists, the computers and cars that cannot follow each other that causes boring races."

Rating: Neutral (0) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

3. Posted by markscottuk, 16/01/2016 18:46

"Let's go a few steps further in Hybrid and move to electric only in the following cases:

1. Formation lap
2. Pit Lane
3. VSC and SC

Then the technology can be refined so that if the speed and the range allows, the cars can run some or all of the race with electricity and only move to fuel to gain more accelleration when required."

Rating: Neutral (0) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

4. Posted by Bruce, 16/01/2016 15:00 (moderated by an Adminstrator, 16/01/2016 15:06)

"This comment was removed by an administrator as it was judged to have broken the site's posting rules and etiquette."

Rating: Neutral (0)

5. Posted by GrahamG, 15/01/2016 22:18 (moderated by an Adminstrator, 16/01/2016 15:06)

"Why this preoccupation that more pit stops equals "a better show"
In addition to a big increase in cost it will make watching the race even more pointless, watch the first lap and then look up the result in the paper the next day, because for sure you won't know who is actually leading at any other point.
What the spectator - young and old, new and experienced - wants to see is the fastest car driven by the fastest driver win the race, not some artifice through a lucky strategy or Pirelli accidentally supplying tyres that last rather than falling apart.
Every "new" rule just moves the sport further away from a true race and increases cost. Nonsense!"

Rating: Neutral (0) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

6. Posted by Ro, 15/01/2016 20:15 (moderated by an Adminstrator, 16/01/2016 15:06)

"As Maggie Thatcher once said : NO NO NO.....It will just be a string of "sprints" whaere is the racing in that ? "

Rating: Positive (2) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

7. Posted by scf1fan, 15/01/2016 19:56 (moderated by an Adminstrator, 16/01/2016 15:06)

"The rationale of the thought on how refueling really "improves the show" continues to elude me.

Is it interesting? Yes, in a minor way. (But time in the pits is not time out racing on the track.)

Will it provide any significant margin (time/position) to the race? No. (Unless someone blows something up!) Currently, the average difference in pit times between teams participating is probably about 2-10 seconds per race. (This in the "enforced" pit times of having to change between the required tire compounds. The need to fix broken equipment hasn't/will not change.) The average margins on the track is more like minutes and laps. How much entertainment value will there be for the added few seconds of refueling? (Assuming they are going to keep the 100kg limit . . . 1 stop? 2 stops?)

Will refueling cost more? Yes. (Where is the penchant for cost savings now?)

Will refueling be more dangerous! Undoubtedly. (Hot brakes and splashed fuel do not mix!!)"

Rating: Neutral (0) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

8. Posted by nonickname, 15/01/2016 19:17

"The frog only opens its mouth to catch insects,it never says anything of use."

Rating: Neutral (0) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

Todt admits that refuelling could return

LATEST NEWS

RELATED ARTICLES

LATEST IMAGES

POST A COMMENT

Post your comment

READERS COMMENTS

Share this page