F1 fuel improvements??

[Frimley111R]

I thought the teams all used standard fuel but JB keeps talking about improvements in the fuel which will help them?

[thainy77]

There are different suppliers, Mercedes - Petronas, Ferrari - Shell, McLaren - Mobil etc. etc.

[paolow]

There are fuel standards but my understanding is that the fuel suppliiers could still work within these, in concert with the engine manufacturers to maximise power. Hence Petronas could make a better fuel for Mercedes, for Mercedes, than Esso could do with, for instance, Mclaren.

[HustleRussell]

Frimley111R said:

I thought the teams all used standard fuel but JB keeps talking about improvements in the fuel which will help them?

McLaren Honda are (I believe) unique in the paddock in that their fuel comes from Esso. Even when McLaren was using Mercedes engines, the Esso fuel put them at a slight disadvantage.

[rdjohn]

Article19 of the regs provides the opaque answer.

As ever in F1, it does not even specify a maximum octane rating, just the ingredients that the fuel can be blended from. Two blends are available to each driver every race.

The notion that it is similar to the stuff we buy at the fuel station is not very realistic.

[alangla]

Given the amount of things (tyres, ECU etc) that are now single-supplier, it seems strange that the teams are still allowed to choose their own fuel. I wonder if issuing standard fuel to all teams would level things up a bit more.
(For even more fun, why not issue whatever the standard pump fuel is in the location that the race is taking place. E100 in Brazil, anyone?)

[PhillipM]

There's a fair percentage of the fuel that is open to development, a lot of the power improvements in the new power units has come about as a result of fuel upgrades to take advantage of leaner combustion ratios.

[rdjohn]

But not at a cost that will result in better fuel in your everyday drive. The cylinder heads make use of duel ignition chambers and variable burn rates. You will not see this technology in your car. The machining costs will be too high.

There should have been a sensible upper limit - say 98 Octaine pump fuel. As it is, the whole "promoting Hybrid technology" philosophy falls down on its face.

But then when did the FIA last make a sensible decision?