Formula One Refueling Ban Will Get Someone Killed

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: February 10, 2010

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Since announcing the refuelling ban, F1 has been applauded by both teams and fans for improving safety and taking fuel strategy out of the equation.

Both of the above are appalling—particularly the teams supporting it. They should know better than this—they WORK with this stuff after all.

I've been saying this since the day it was considered, and I've always been considered nuts for believing it, but I firmly believe that this refuelling ban will get somebody killed. With luck, something will happen to wake us up to this fact before it actually happens, and refuelling will be reintroduced.

Here's the simple truth: While fire in the pits is a serious danger when refuelling is allowed, a fire in the pits is far safer than one on the racetrack. When a fire occurs in the pits, firefighting gear is on it within seconds. In the last 20 years, I'm not aware of any deaths occurring from pitlane fires. Injuries, yes. Deaths, no.

Look at Tony Kanaan's fire at Edmonton last year. It took a few seconds to get water on it, but due to quick reactions, no injuries. De Ferran Motorsports' pit fire at Mid-Ohio in 2008 burned the refueller's hands and wrists—that's all. The fuel hose incident in the F1 race at Brazil burned itself out before it could do any real damage.

In a pit lane fire, there is a very limited amount of fuel to burn. This makes the fire easier to put out and also lowers the temperature at which it burns.

On the track, there is no guarantee of firefighting gear getting to the car quickly enough to put out the flames before serious injuries can occur.

"But today's fuel cells are pretty much invincible!"

24 Hours of Daytona 2009. Didn't a Mazda RX-8 have its fuel cell ripped open by the KERBING on the track, causing a rapid spilling of the car's fuel? Those fuels cells are built the same way and to the same safety specs as the ones in an F1 car. And now you're goi...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Formula 1

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