The Formula One Season 2005

I don't see any usage of the 'Racing Weight' definition, you would seldom have fuel tanks actually full during an event.

ISTM that if you can show that your car was above the required weight minimum during the event you are in the clear. It will be interesting to hear what happens next. There's a chap I can ask at the weekend who will probably know.

Paul (well nerdy...)

 

The German press is all aflitter about BAR this morning, speculating that BAR may have fitted an extra fuel tank which would be a clear contravention of rules. There's even talk that BAR might be excluded from racing for the rest of the season.

Personally, I don't see it, I can't imagine anyone at BAR being stupid enough to design a car that violates F1 rules.

Let's see how the story unfolds.

 

There's me rounding things up . Turns out the figure was quoted to me as 18K rpm. Still boggles my mind though.

 

When I used to race, some smart arse, made his fuel lines to the tank a good 3/4 in I/diameter, seems that year some one forgot to 'interpret' the rules' properly and fair play the guy got away with it.
Always wonder how he managed that few extra laps at that speed

 

If we're talking about secret hidden tanks or some other blatant form of cheating then I agree with you but all the teams are always trying to push the limits of the interpretation of the rules and it's possible in this case that BAR have interpreted things one way and the FIA another. And then there's always the possibility of a genuine mistake (like the Ferrari bargeboards in Sepang '99). OTOH very big names with reputations have cheated blatantly in the past, such as Toyota's secret turbo de-restrictor gadget in the WRC a few years back.

On a different note I find it quite extraordinary that the FIA would appeal a stewards decision on what appears to be a technicality at a time when F1 has enough problems to deal with. To Joe Punter it's going to look like the FIA is arguing with itself it certainly won't do the image of F1 any favours .

I (again) didn't watch the race allthough it appears to have been one of the good ones. Mind you, I was far more pleasantly occupied

Michael.

 

BAR's Nick Fry

Well, as so often in life, there are two ways to look at a situation. A collecting device, especially one that the FIA has seen and inspected several times, should not be against the rules. But if I understand Mr Fry's gist correctly, he seems to argue that the fuel that is in the collecting device, and which presumably cannot be used during the race, should count towards the car's "dry" weight.

I have my doubts that the FIA will be happy with that POV.

 

The stewards are said to have found about an 11 kg difference between the weight of the car with and without fuel after the race. This is an unusually large amount, normally the teams aim to have only about 1-1.5 kg left.

The additional tank/collecting device is said to have only been found when the race stewards inspected the inside of the tank on Button's car with the help of an endoscope. Presumably, this rather unexpected location is what originally raised the suspicions of the FIA.

If BAR aimed for a fuel rest of 1-1.5 kg like the rest of the teams, that puts the capacity of the collecting device at about 10 kg, certainly enough to make a difference of a couple of laps and certainly enough to lower the times appreciably if the car were run without those 10 kg during the middle stint, say.

On the other hand, that would necessitate some means to empty and fill the collecting device in a controlled way. If such a mechanism were found, it would look grim for BAR.

If, on the other hand, BAR can demonstrate to the FIA that the collecting device is entirely passive, and is full up whenever the tank is not completely empty, I think any fraud allegations are baseless.

Building such a device is not the work of a single man. I really can't imagine a team of BAR engineers going to their management with an idea that would jeopardize the team's very existence, much less the management actually approving such an idea.

It would also be something that could not be hidden from Honda. I also can't see Honda sanctioning a fraud.

All in all, I'm guessing BAR will present a strong case on May 4th.

 

Well, it looks like I'm right so far ...




"Wednesday, 27 April 2005 09:14


After being comprehensively outpaced by teammate Jarno Trulli so far this season, Ralf Schumacher has blamed the handling characteristics of the Toyota TF105 for his current plight.

While Trulli has taken three front-row starts and two podium finishes from the first four races, Schumacher has struggled to match him and has just a fourth and a fifth placed finish to show for his efforts.

Although the team believe that part of the problem may be down to the fact that Schumacher may not be able to heat up his tyres as well as Trulli for the all-important single qualifying laps, Schumacher claims the problem lies in another area.

"With the Williams my advantage was mainly under braking," said Schumacher, whose best results have usually come on circuits that demand heavy braking. "I regularly braked seven to 10 metres later than my teammate, but I cannot do that with the Toyota.

"If I did I would be too slow out of the corners. And if you realize that you do not have an advantage in one area, then you have to adapt your driving style and find the right compromise."

 

Autosport-Atlas have a superb article by Adam Cooper about "BAR-gate" in today's journal: http://www.autosport-atlas.com/journal_article.aspx?id=69 (requires a subscription). Looks like Jenson's car does have something in the fuel tank that allows the car to run up to 6kg underweight.

Looks like they will have to be able to prove that the car was not underweight at any time during the race but depending on how you interpret the rules even that may not be enough to avoid some kind of penalty.

Michael.

 

With the BAR vs FIA judgement out later today I'd just like to wish Ian and the rest of the team the best of luck and hope to goodness that the judges see sense and come down in favour of BAR. The thought of BAR being excluded from the championship over this is just too awful an outcome to contemplate.

Having read the FIA's and BAR's depositions to the court (on autosport-atlasf1.com) aswell as detailed analysis my view is that BAR did nothing wrong. Let's hope the judges see it that way too.

Michael.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/4514569.stm

 

Hi Michael,

Thanks for the support.

I am still unable to comment on this apart from stating that I am happy that some people can see through the politics.

Ian

 

hmm i wonder if a 2 race viewer boycott would kick bernie and his cronies up the arse?

 

I have to say I'm shocked and gutted at the penalty that BAR have received. If, as it seems, they are judged to have broken the rules as a result of a difference of interpretation (and the rules are pretty vague in this area) then I would have expected at most a DQ from Imola. The 2 race ban and the 6 month suspended ban are outrageously harsh IMO

Michael.

 

are they hoping for a rise in media exposure and viewers due to this ridiculous reaction? makes one wonder. bernie - the soap.
cheers


julian

 

I too am shocked at the severity of the punishment. Considering that the race stewards had decided that no further action was necessary, I was expecting a proverbial slap on the wrist, nothing this severe. What course of action is now open to BAR in terms of an appeal?

 

That is why I never could take this sport seriously. For me as an occasional observer it seems...... if Red don't get to win on the tracks punish the rest of the teams by some small print rules. Is that it?

 

If that is true, then wouldn't it be logical to punish the team currently leading the championship?

 

That would be too obvious.

 

Having had a quick read through the Atlas articles today, I can only interpret this penalty as politically motivated stupidity. Given the rules are grey I had expected nothing more than a token financial penalty, formal rule clarification and subsequent re-deisgn of the BAR fuel pickup for the Spanish GP onward.

I hope BAR follow up through the courts to ensure they get back on track. BE and the FIA appear to need a good hard kicking for their management of this sport. Nonsense like this makes the proposed manufacturer led series appear more and more viable.

I wish the best of luck for the BAR team in persuing this matter to a favourable resolution.

Regards,

Stuart.