03/05/2018
NEWS STORY
In its latest bid to stymie teams' use of oil burning as a means of increasing performance, the FIA has issued a fresh directive aimed at closing a qualifying loophole.
Under the latest directive, teams are expressly forbidden from topping up their oil systems during qualifying.
"Following numerous discussions on the subject, we wish to clarify that in order to allow the FIA to monitor oil consumption during the qualifying practice session in a precise and timely manner, no oil may be added to the car nor may any auxiliary oil tank (AOT) be activated, i.e. there may be no oil transfer between an AOT and any part of the engine lubrication system," writes the FIA's technical delegate Jo Bauer, according to Autosport.
"Exceptions to the above may however be granted on specific occasions following a request from the team concerned, any such exception will be made at the sole discretion of the FIA technical delegate."
Rather than teams topping up their oil systems in a bid to hide the higher consumption that would result from oil burning during qualifying, the latest directive is seen as a shot across the bows before anyone attempts it.