Abu Dhabi GP: Red Bull says Vettel's car had enough fuel
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner is convinced that the necessary fuel for the mandatory one-litre sample was in Sebastian Vettel's car but that regulations preventing the removal of bodywork meant that it could not be extracted.
The FIA stewards' decision stated that scrutineers found "an insufficient quantity of fuel for sampling purposes", which led to Vettel being excluded from qualifying.
But Horner, who accepted that the penalty was fair, insists that the fuel was there, but that a full litre could not be extracted without removing bodywork, in contravention of Article 6.6.4 of the Formula 1 technical regulations.
"The rules dictate that one litre has to be able to be provided without the removal of bodywork, without manipulating the car," said Horner.
"We believe that the fuel is in the cell, according to what Renault have told us, but you cannot dismantle the cell to give the sample.
"The car will be worked on tonight, so it is out of parc ferme, and we should have a better understanding and hopefully a cure for tomorrow."
The need for fuel sampling is covered by Article 6.6 of the F1 technical regulations, which reads:
6.6 Fuel draining and sampling
6.6.1 Competitors must provide a means of removing all fuel from the car.
6.6.2 Competitors must ensure that a one litre sample of fuel may be taken from the car at any time during the Event.
Except in cases of force majeure (accepted as such by the stewards of the meeting), if a sample of fuel is required after a practice session the car concerned must have first been driven back to the pits under its own power.
6.6.3 All cars must be fitted with a -2 'Symetrics' male fitting in order to facilitate fuel sampling. If an electric pump on board the car cannot be used to remove the fuel an externally connected one may be used provided it is evident that a representative fuel sample is being taken. If an external pump is used it must be possible to connect the FIA sampling hose to it and any hose between the car and pump must be -3 in diameter and not exceed 2m in length. Details of the fuel sampling hose may be found in the Appendix to these regulations.
6.6.4 The sampling procedure must not necessitate starting the engine or the removal of bodywork (other than the cover over any refuelling connector).
http://www.autosport...t.php/id/104004
Abu Dhabi GP: Red Bull baffled by Vettel fuel problems
Red Bull says it is baffled as to the nature of the fuel cell problem on Sebastian Vettel's car that resulted in him getting thrown out of qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Vettel will start from the pitlane at the Yas Marina circuit on Sunday after he was disqualified from his third place slot on the grid for not having enough fuel in his car for a mandatory one-litre fuel sample to be taken.
With the team and Renault both convinced there was enough fuel in the car to provide the sample - but the limits of the regulations preventing it being extracted – the FIA had no choice but to exclude Vettel from the results.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said on Saturday night that his outfit and Renault had no immediate answers for what had gone wrong, which is why Vettel's car was being pulled from parc ferme so a full investigation could be undertaken.
"It is frustrating. It's annoying. It is one of those things," explained Horner, whose team had successfully proven that there was a 'force majeure' reason for stopping Vettel after his qualifying effort.
"It is an issue that was reported on the in-lap. The instruction from Renault was clear. They wanted us to stop the engine immediately due to an issue that they saw within the fuel cell. We did that.
"The FIA accepted that, they accepted the technical issue that Renault reported to us, and unfortunately as the regulations dictate there has to be a one litre fuel sample to be able to taken from the car, and it is only 850ml that has been extracted.
"Renault are convinced that the rest of the fuel is in the tank but we have taken the car out of parc ferme tonight to further investigate."
He added: "It is a frustrating scenario and we need to get into the fuel cell to understand what the issue is. We are working with Renault on it, and they dictate the amount of fuel that goes into the car.
"They are happy with the margins, they are happy with the amount of fuel that should be in the car but for whatever reason we have had this issue on the slow down lap."
Vettel's car being taken out of parc ferme means he will now start from the pitlane, which is a blow to his hopes of further extending his points advantage over Fernando Alonso in the championship table.
Horner said, however, that there were still opportunities for Vettel to limit the damage of what has happened.
When asked what impact he believed the result would have on the title battle he said: "It is difficult to say.
"There is a long race ahead of us and there is an opportunity, so we will go into the race, we will attack the race and I am sure Sebastian will demonstrate to everybody why he is a great racer.
"He has come from the back and produced great races before and I have no doubt he can do it again. There is no reason why Sebastian cannot salvage something.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/104005
enjoy that read..
mean to paul or his car?