Virgin F1 to increase fuel tank size by European leg
The FIA have granted the Virgin F1 team permission to increase the size of their fuel tank after doubts about whether the current size would suffice for some of the race distances. The reason for special permission is that chassis are homologated for each season, and a change in the fuel tank highly affects the original design.
Technical Director Nick Whirth explained the problem that their VR-01 is facing, "It has become clear during pre-season testing and our debut race in Bahrain that our fuel tank capacity is marginal and if not addressed there is the possibility that fuel pick-up could become an issue in certain circumstances,”
"We thank the FIA for permitting this change,” added Wirth. “At the time the design of the tank was locked down in June 2009, its capacity was determined by a number of factors, some of which have since changed, and the tank capacity now needs to be increased accordingly.
"We thank the FIA for permitting this change, which we expect to introduce in the early part of the European season."
