2024 Belgian Grand Prix - Spa-Francorchamps, July 26 - 28

[Tommy Cookers]

The car was exactly at the limit before any fuel was removed. The scrutineers then removed 2.8 litres, but didn't drain the car completely because they already had the 1 litre sample ("as TR Article 6.5.2 is fulfilled").

so the car during the race wasn't under the weight limit - but is disqualified

same as Prost's dsq from victory here - his car was under weight only after driving the 4 mile lap of honour
this event caused people to start 'marble harvesting'

if today's 'scales' aren't actual scales ie mass comparators then 'their' calibration will also be erroneous
unless allowance was made for the differences in gravity between the calibration lab and the track

[mwillems]

yea

https://i.imgur.com/Cfj4PcZ.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/Lclpe97.jpeg

Since they were in Parc Ferme, did they have the same checks after qualifying?

The original notice from the FIA mentions explicitly that after the first fuel drain, that the car was exactly at the right weight to pass.

This seems somewhat fortuitous, right? They took some of the fuel and what was left took them exactly to the weight limit.

Apologies if this has been asked already.

The car was exactly at the limit before any fuel was removed. The scrutineers then removed 2.8 litres, but didn't drain the car completely because they already had the 1 litre sample ("as TR Article 6.5.2 is fulfilled").

Yeah quite right.

But to the other question, I assume they were also underweight in qualifying? Do they weigh the cars after qualifying?

Edit: Wasn't it supposed to be drained by the team before weighing? Isn't that what the FIA article says, it wasn't drained properly by the team?

[michl420]

I read that about the fuel draining for weighting . I am a bit confussed about this rule, because after the ban of refulling, it is now a fact that the car from RUS was actually never under the weight-limit in the race!?

[mwillems]

yea

https://i.imgur.com/Cfj4PcZ.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/Lclpe97.jpeg

Since they were in Parc Ferme, did they have the same checks after qualifying?

The original notice from the FIA mentions explicitly that after the first fuel drain, that the car was exactly at the right weight to pass.

This seems somewhat fortuitous, right? They took some of the fuel and what was left took them exactly to the weight limit.

Apologies if this has been asked already.

The car was exactly at the limit before any fuel was removed. The scrutineers then removed 2.8 litres, but didn't drain the car completely because they already had the 1 litre sample ("as TR Article 6.5.2 is fulfilled").

Feels like it suggests the team did not drain it properly as per the tech regs, which I assume should happen before weighing. I'll check.

[GrizzleBoy]

I read that about the fuel draining for weighting . I am a bit confussed about this rule, because after the ban of refulling, it is now a fact that the car from RUS was actually never under the weight-limit in the race!?

At all times, all cars must be at a weight that when fuel tanks are drained, the car will be above the minimum weight limit.

Regardless of fuel use, if when the tanks are drained the car is no longer above the weight limit, it is deemed to be illegal.

Dont get suckered into the discussion about fuel.

[Waz]

I enjoyed that race. There was enough going on all the time to make it really interesting even without drama.

Completely unexpected results. This season just keeps delivering.

[mwillems]

Yeah, reading the report and F1.com article, the team had not fully emptied the car as their documents stated and it had to be emptied again, fully. I doubt the FIA make a habit of weighing cars with fuel in them when they only measure the unfueled weight.

So yes, it looks like the car was emptied to exactly the minimum weight, from what I can see.

[Sieper]

Ok. So did they check if all the other cars were properly emptied. Or just Russell. I ask this because even before the DSQ, even before anything had come to light RBR had not expected this pace by Merc. And then 1 car was too light.

[GrizzleBoy]

Ok. So did they check if all the other cars were properly emptied. Or just Russell. I ask this because even before the DSQ, even before anything had come to light RBR had not expected this pace by Merc. And then 1 car was too light.

Every car is weighed at every race.

[zeph]

So yes, it looks like the car was emptied to exactly the minimum weight, from what I can see.

Yeah, that was a bit suspect, it was exactly at the minimum weight with 2.8 liters of fuel on board. They knew they screwed up and hoped this would pass inspection?

I don’t know, but it’s terrible for Russell. I do think Hamilton deserves the win, but I doubt he is thrilled about how he got it.

Anyway, I’m just happy it wasn’t the usual RBR/Verstappen dominance. 78 points clear of Norris it is still his to lose, but at least he has to work for it now.

Oh yeah, what happened to Perez?!

[sport777]

W15 was one of the fastest today, I think the update on Friday slowed them down a lot, you can assume that in the old spec they were as fast as McLaren, yesterday everyone would have laughed if they knew that today Merc would deservedly win with its pace

[mwillems]

Yeah Russell is just fodder in this one. Poor guy must be furious.

What I'm curious about, is do they weigh the cars after Qualy?

But then if it is related to rubber they may not have been underweight.

None the less, he got a Qualy and Race advantage.

[mwillems]

W15 was one of the fastest today, I think the update on Friday slowed them down a lot, you can assume that in the old spec they were as fast as McLaren, yesterday everyone would have laughed if they knew that today Merc would deservedly win with its pace

Toto said it wasn't the update and they'll run it again. After they swapped floors they realised it was an unrelated technical issue.

[cplchanb]

So now we know how George was able to stay ahead... 1.5kg can make a difference with equal cars

[TFSA]

Its simple now all the car that finished, minus any propellant fuel. Thats it, clear and simple. Any infringement and you're out.

lol guys it's basically universal across all series and club racing, etc that you have to come off track above minimum weight.

Not entirely true.

First of all: F1 is a different standard to other racing series. It's the most well-funded racing series there is - they can afford to do things differently (and better) than other racing-series, who are more resource-constrained. So comparing it to how it's done in more resource-constrained series is a faulty argument already.

But second of all: The cars aren't always weighed as they are (minus fuel). What I'm suggesting - weighing the car with a different set of tires - is already a practice that is implemented when the race is a wet-weather race. If a car has an intermediate or wet weather tire fitted at the end of a race, the car will be weighed with a set of dry tires (although not necessarily a new set - the rules say it's weighed with an appropriate dry-tire set selected by the F1 technical delegate).

If they can replace the tires before weighing when the race is wet, there's no excuse for them not being capable of doing it in a dry race. This may help us avoid a situation like this again. We can do better than this.

Don't resist change just for the sake of resisting change.