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ShareMumbai: If you thought 2009 was the year of big changes in Formula One, think again. For, in 2010, the sport will be witnessing more rule changes. One consequence of the truce signed between F1 teams association FOTA and FIA is that, except the budget cap, next year's championship will be governed by rules that were agreed upon before April 29, 2009. Though it is yet to be formally announced, among the most significant changes is a ban on refuelling i.e. no fuel will be added during pitstops.
The World Motor Sport Council had made a decision to this effect on December 12, 2008 in order to save costs of transporting refuelling equipment and increase the incentive for engine builders to improve fuel economy.
Cost saving apart, F1 experts are supporting this decision purely for racing reasons. Former world champion Mario Andretti said he was very much in favour of the refuelling ban. "In the past, F1 has had rules where there was no refuelling and I'd rather see it that way because the outcome of the race will be decided on the race track, rather than in a pit stop," he told DNA.
Though there will be pit stops in 2010, it will be for tyre changes alone. Over the past few years, teams had been devising fuel stops as a part of race strategies... depending on the qualifying and track conditions, in some cases teams would run light on fuel thereby doing more pitstops while in other cases they would run heavy on fuel and do less pitstops. Andretti believes the important element of racing is action on track. "As a driver, I always wanted to have as much control as possible, rather than depending on the service in the pits. The more I was in control, the more satisfying and attractive it was for me," he said.
With no fuel stops, some may think that the priority will shift from going fast to conserving fuel so as to last the distance. However, Andretti believes one can still go as fast as possible. "The early pace will be slower on a full tank because everyone will start with enough fuel to finish the race. There's no chance you'll run out of fuel."
The fuel tanks in current cars have a capacity of 90 litres. From 2010, the capacity will reach 150 litres.
Meanwhile, Toyota has already started designing the 2010 car keeping in mind the refuelling ban. Though the engine and chassis specifications won't change, the team will be reworking the weight distribution because of the larger fuel tank.
