Red Bull plays with fire… petrol. On Sunday, just a few minutes before the single-seaters lined up on the starting grid Montmeló circuit, we witnessed a particular episode. There RB18 di Max VerstappenIn fact, came out of the pits at the last minute, risking the departure from the pit lane.
At the last second
It is not the first time that such an event has occurred this year. TO Miami we saw the two Aston Martin by Vettel and Stroll start from the pit lane; is Verstappen, last Sunday at Barcelona, risked ending up not so different. The cause would be attributable to one unregulated petrol temperature; and this delayed the arrival of the Dutch on the line-up. Verstappen came out in the last seconds from the pit lane before the red light, without even being able to do the starting test to familiarize yourself with clutch disengagement.
What the legislator says
The regulation quotes verbatim: “The petrol in the single-seater in use must be greater than 10 degrees centigrade below ambient temperature”. Barcelona there were 35°C, therefore the minimum temperature under which the teams they could not get off was of 25°C.
The delay hypothesis
As for the delay Verstappen when leaving the pits, therefore, the most accredited hypothesis would be that according to which the reigning champion's single-seater remained in the pits for correct the fuel temperature before departure. So petrol it was too cold, and the Red Bull mechanics were forced to raise its temperature by turning on the power unitin order to avoid any penalties.
Binotto disputes
The team principal of Ferrari Mattia binotto drew attention to the way in which the regulation is interpreted. In fact, the term 'single-seater in use' would mean 'single-seater on the track', and not 'lit in the pits'. For Binotto this represents a misinterpretation of the technical regulation"I can imagine the operations performed by Red Bull were related to fuel temperature in the tank. Which it has to be above 10°C below ambient temperature. And it seems to me that by regulation this should be verified at any moment during the event, not only when the car is on the track, but also when it's in the pits. That's why I don't think that a flame to try and warm up the tank would be enough, because the petrol should always be no lower than 10°C below ambient. I can only trust the FIA, because it's difficult to give an explanation as seen. Since, as I said, fuel it should always be beyond that minimum threshold. I'm pretty sure the FIA is satisfied and have checked. Maybe you should ask them directly.” concluded the TP of the Ferrari.
SOURCE: F1world
