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[myownalias]

Refuelling to return from 2017 season

Formula 1 bosses have agreed to bring back refuelling in 2017 as part of a range of measures aimed at making the sport more exciting.

There will also be higher revving and louder engines and changes aimed at making cars "five to six seconds a lap faster", governing body the FIA said.

For 2016, bosses have approved a plan to allow teams free choice of the four available tyre compounds for each race.

The changes still need to be approved by two further legislative stages.

The changes were agreed on Thursday at a meeting of the F1 strategy group, which comprises FIA president Jean Todt, commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone and the Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren, Red Bull, Williams and Force India teams. The engine manufacturers were also represented at the meeting.

The FIA statement added that a "comprehensive proposal to ensure the sustainability of the sport has emerged".

This, it said, would be refined by the teams in the coming weeks.

The engine rules, which saw the introduction of turbo hybrid engines and a fuel restriction last year, will remain stable.

This is to give clarity for any potential new manufacturers who may be considering entering the sport.

But it is the return of refuelling which will attract the most attention - the practice was last permitted in 2009.

The FIA said the "maximum race fuel allowance" of 100kg would be retained. The statement was not clear on whether the maximum fuel-flow rate of 100kg per hour would also stay, but a spokesman confirmed it would.

There has been mounting criticism of the spectacle provided by F1 in recent years and the developments are a clear attempt to address that.

Drivers have been critical that the cars are too slow - in some races they are up to 10 seconds slower than in 2004.

The FIA said this would be addressed for 2017 by "aerodynamic rules evolution, wider tyres and a reduction in car weight".

The first step in improving the show will come with the freedom of tyre choices by teams next year.

Tyre supplier Pirelli said at the weekend that it had reservations about the idea but bosses have ignored this and voted it through.

They feel that providing free tyre choice will introduce variety and uncertainty into race strategy.

The FIA statement said: "All parties agreed to work together with an intention to firm up these proposals and submit them to the approval of the F1 commission and the World Motor Sport Council of the FIA as soon as possible for implementation."

A plan to allow drivers to use a fifth engine this season, one up from the current limit of four, has been rejected.

Source: http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/32751118

[1Lemon]

The Formula One Strategy Group met yesterday in Biggin Hill to exchange views on the current challenges that F1 faces. Besides the statuary members of the Group, representatives of the engine manufacturers were also invited.

The Strategy Group members have debated a number of levers aimed at improving the show. An initial series of measures has been voted:

For 2016:

- Free choice of the two dry tyre compounds (out of four) that each team can use during the race weekend



For 2017:

- Faster cars: 5 to 6 seconds drop in laptimes through aerodynamic rules evolution, wider tyres and reduction of car weight

- Reintroduction of refuelling (maintaining a maximum race fuel allowance)

- Higher revving engines and increased noise

- More aggressive looks



A few other measures have also been discussed but require further investigation before they can be implemented:

- A global reflection on race weekend format

- Measures to make starts only activated by the driver without any outside assistance



Furthermore, in light of the various scenarios presented by the independent consulting company mandated by the F1 Strategy Group, at the initiative of the FIA, to work on the reduction of costs and following a constructive exchange, a comprehensive proposal to ensure the sustainability of the sport has emerged. The Strategy Group member Teams have committed to refine it in the next few weeks, in consultation with the other teams involved in the championship. On the engine side, it has been decided that stability of the rules should prevail in consideration of the investments of the manufacturers involved in the sport and to give visibility to potential new entrants. The allowance for a 5th engine to be used during the 2015 season has been rejected.

This constructive meeting between the FIA, FOM and the Teams has allowed paving the way for the future of the championship. All parties agreed to work together with an intention to firm up these proposals and submit them to the approval of the F1 Commission and the World Motor Sport Council of the FIA as soon as possible for implementatio

Source http://www.fia.com/news/f1-strategy-group-press-release

[1Lemon]

I can only imagine teams are gonna pick their own tyre compounds, mess it up, then blame poor old Pirelli.

[myownalias]

Am I the only person to think the FIA have stuck it in reverse gear? a lot of what they are suggesting is what F1 used to be in years past!

[gdh]

Refuelling and the strategy was always exciting to watch. I thought that they got rid of refueling primarilly due to safety concerns but I could well be wrong on that. The sport needs something to bring back the excitement. If teams run lower fuel levels combined with their tire mngt the drivers should be happier with the higher speeds. The tracks also need more areas where overtaking can occur. Looking fwd to more teams on the circuit as well, hopefully they will be financial strong and competitive.

[darwin dali]

Refueling and tire games - YAY!

[stonemonkey]

Are they going to choose which tyre sets they'll use before the weekend or will they have all available over the weekend? Will they have to use 2 different types over a race?

[darwin dali]

All valid questions, but patience, we'll find out soon enough...

[sagi58]

When I heard they'd be allowing teams to choose their own tires, I was

Finding out that refuelling is coming back makes me


Woohooo!!!

[zurich_allan]

Personally I'm all for anything that adds to the variable elements of a team's strategy and gives more potential for somebody to take a chance and do something completely different in the hope that a number of factors (track temperature, safety cars, getting caught in traffic etc.) might come into play. I don't see bringing back refuelling as a step back in a technological sense personally. Just my opinion.

[darwin dali]

Ah, looking forward to more drama like this:
[youtube]cHuhgC9tEyo[/youtube]

[myownalias]

I don't see bringing back refuelling as a step back in a technological sense personally. Just my opinion.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying taking a step backwards is a bad thing, I think it's good for F1, I have felt that F1 has been more concerned with being road relevant than being the pinnacle of motorsport which has driven people away from the sport, the average Joe does not care about technology, they just want to see drivers race as fast as possible and as noisily as possible, giving the whole visceral experience. I'd be all for manual H-gate gearboxes, low wide cars with sticky tyres and big V12's if it improved the racing and shook things up.

[ckilger12]

I hope the part about aggressive looks and wider tires lead to larger diameter wheels as well

[myownalias]

Looks like plans to re-introduce refuelling in 2017 are off again due to lack of support by teams.

Proposals to reintroduce refuelling into Formula 1 are likely to be dropped because of a lack of support.

The idea to bring back refuelling, which was last used in 2009, came out of a rule-making strategy group meeting of leading teams and officials.

But further talks this week have revealed major opposition, with teams concerned about the costs.

There will be an analysis of its effects on the show before a final decision.

F1 is pressing ahead with other changes planned for 2017 to speed up the cars.

"It is going to be back to the quickest cars on the planet with the most efficient energy usage, with wider tyres, with driver aids removed, with driver-controlled starts back again," said Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff. "There is so much good stuff happening."

Refuelling was proposed during the strategy group meeting as a way of making the cars lighter and therefore faster for more of the race duration.

But none of the teams are in favour of refuelling, which was banned on grounds of cost, safety and because it reduced the amount of on-track overtaking.

A meeting of sporting directors in Monaco on Friday concluded that refuelling would add about a million euros to each team's annual budget. Several smaller teams are struggling to make ends meet at the moment.

The teams are to do further analysis on the effects re-introducing refuelling would have on the racing. The findings will be presented at a meeting at the next race in Canada on 5-7 June.

Statistics show that the years during the refuelling era of 1994-2009 produced consistently the lowest number of overtaking manoeuvres on track per race of any year since 1980.

Regardless of whether refuelling returns, F1 cars will be made five to six seconds a lap faster than current speeds.

Source: http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/32857685

[overboost]

I am ok with that.