FIA Investigating Formula 1 Fuel Sensors

The Formula One 2019 Season is coming to an end, with rumours growing before the final race in Abu Dhabi. Since Ferrari’s dominance after the winter break, many teams, including Red Bull, have claimed that they tricked fuel-flow sensors into gaining their straight-line advantage. The FIA announced a month ago that they would begin creating new technical directives that clamp down on the fuel-flow of F1 Cars. They confirmed that all teams would be required to run a secondary sensor come the 2020 Season.

The first driver that mentioned his speculation over Ferrari was Max Verstappen. Afterwards, Red Bull went to the FIA with concerns regarding the legality of tricking fuel-flow sensors. Immediately, speculation began all over the grid, and by the United States Grand Prix, those straight-line speeds had disappeared. Though Ferrari hasn’t been penalized for their actions, it was confirmed that they had altered fuel sensors to increase the rate of fuel to the engine. This was accomplished by managing an electric interference through the sensors flow rate bypass. Since then, the FIA has announced new technical directives that state this practice is illegal and contradicts with the rules.

The directive wasn’t publicly announced until after the United States Grand Prix in Austin. However, fans knew that something was wrong when the pace dropped tenfold for Ferrari. Their speeds in Brazil were lower than previous circuits after the summer break as well. Many have taken this as confirmation that Italian Horses broke the rules, but Ferrari has denied these claims and noted that performance drops are from other numerous factors.

FIA Moves In

The governing body for Formula One has since confiscated two of Ferrari’s Fuel Systems and is then using another sensor from a separate team to correlate the data. This confiscation came right after Sebastien Vettel, and Charles Leclerc struck each other at Interlagos. The FIA confirmed that all secondary fuel-flow sensor systems managed next season will be exclusively controlled by the governing body. The last race in 2019 will be the final time that Formula 1 Teams have full control over their fuel-flow sensor systems. Subsequently, all teams will have to race at a more even playing field.

None of the teams has publicly come forward to talk about the new racing directives. Most of them are focusing on the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi. Any teams wanting to contest this directive will wait the new year in January.