The Mercedes from some Grand Prix has a strange chassis cover in the tank area.
The body of the W13 has adopted a sort of “coat” in insulating material which is useful to avoid a progressive heating of the petrol in the tank.
Mercedes W13, detail of the second anti-heat skin on the tank
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Because the colder the fuel, the greater the density of the fluid. With the same volume in the combustion chamber, therefore, it will be possible to inject more petrol than would be possible if it were at room temperature.
The result that can be obtained is the increase in the thermal charge of the mixture (air-petrol) and therefore the temperature reached in the combustion chamber which translates into greater power and better performance.
Mercedes W13: until a few GPs ago the tank was not covered by a second heat-insulating skin
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The theme is sensitive ones with a fuel that from this year is moreā¦ volatile thanks to the introduction of 10% ethanol. The F1 rules define that gasoline can be 10 degrees colder than the ambient temperature measured one hour before the race.
The FIA, in order to avoid reliability problems with the pumps immersed in the tank of the single-seaters, in Miami had issued a technical directive in which it authorized the teams to embark only in the American race a fuel stabilized at 18 degrees of temperature.
Despite this derogation, the two Aston Martins of Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll had been forced to start from the pit lane because they had a colder petrol in the tank than the authorized one and they had to warm it up before the start if they did not want to suffer a severe penalty.
The Red Bull mechanics work on Max Verstappen’s DRS and then on cooling the gasoline
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
And Red Bull also experienced a similar episode in Barcelona: in the Milton Keynes team they were convinced that the 18 degrees rule remained valid in Spain, while in reality the regulation in force since the beginning of the championship was back in force, so the 110 kg of fluid had to be brought to 25 degrees because the air temperature was 35 degrees. Max Verstappen came out of the pits seconds before the pit lane exit closed, allowing his mechanics to warm up the fuel in the tank with a start.
In a championship where details can make a difference, the exploitation of petrol has become a hot topic and each team tries to tackle the problem with its own solutions.
Mercedes puts the “coat” to preserve the volatile component of the petrol, to avoid higher consumption due to evaporation or lower performance due to the lower density, after Ferrari and Red Bull have also developed similar concepts, even if less enveloping. The increase in weight due to the “coat” is evidently largely compensated by the advantages we have mentioned …
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