SUMMARY
- F1 banned refueling for a couple of reasons.
- The ban was initaited in 2010.
Although there was no refueling during the race, there was a time in F1 when refueling was allowed. This allowed the cars to run with a lighter fuel load during the start of the race. However, this was discontinued.
Why was Refueling banned in F1?
Allowing the cars to fill in fuel during the race gave the teams the option to run the car with a lighter fuel load. This also meant that the fuel tank of the car did not have to be too large and heavy. There is no doubt that this improved the car’s performance around the track. However, there were a few issues.
Since the cars had to refill their tanks during the pit stops, it made the stops much longer than it is now. Each time the cars came into the pits, they would remain still for about 10-11 seconds to allow time to refuel the car. Nowadays, an average pit stop does not take longer than 3 seconds. In 2023, McLaren broke the record for the fastest pit stop in Formula 1 history by completing one in 1.80 seconds.
On this day in 1994, Jos Verstappen’s Benetton gets sprayed with fuel at the German Grand Prix. #F1 pic.twitter.com/vfWQr6q22x
— F1 Images (@F1_Images) July 31, 2015
Another issue with the refueling was safety. Since fuel is a flammable component, there is always a risk while refueling a running car. We have witnessed several incidents in the past where accidents occurred while refueling. A few notable incidents were when Jos Verstappen and his car caught on fire when they splattered while refueling the car. We also saw the fuel line get ripped off with Felipe Massa’s car during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.
For these reasons, F1 decided to ban refueling during a race for F1 cars. Nowadays, the teams need to build a tank that is big enough to hold fuel for the entire race.
When did Formula 1 ban refueling?
F1 decided to ban refueling during the 2010 season. Since then, the cars have been running with larger tanks and more fuel load. On average, the F1 cars run with around 110 liters of fuel. This fuel is used to travel around 190 miles. This gives the car a mileage of around 6 miles per gallon.
There’s fast and then there’s THIS! 😳⏱️
The moment a new F1 pit-stop world record was set! 👏#QatarGP 🇶🇦 pic.twitter.com/M7fJrGBiRc
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) October 9, 2023
However, F1 is planning to switch to more sustainable fuels in 2026. They will also be increasing the amount of electric power coming from the engines. This should improve the mileage of the car.
The ban on refueling has also made the pit stops faster. It is unlikely that F1 will bring back refueling. However, there is a good chance that they might make the cars more sustainable in the coming years.