The FIA hopes that by stopping teams from modifying the standard fuel flow sensor supplied by British company Gill sensors, it will put an end to complaints that they’re unreliable and inaccurate.
It’s thought that the Renault-powered cars account for 90 per cent of the failures or misreadings, with Red Bull highly critical of the technology which team principal Christian Horner described as “immature”.
It’s therefore thought that Renault are having to modify the sensor slightly to suit the installation alongside their power unit, and that is the reason for the issues which haven’t plagued the Mercedes or Ferrari-powered teams to the same degree.
Therefore the FIA plans to issue a technical directive stating that all fuel flow sensors must be fitted as intended by the manufacturer from the Spanish Grand Prix onwards.
Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, claims that if problems continue, the FIA will analyse fuel samples from each of the teams to see if that’s the cause.
All four Renault-powered teams – Red Bull, Lotus, Toro Rosso and Caterham – use fuel supplied by Total, despite Toro Rosso’s CEPSA sponsorship.
