Gene Thinks Less of In-Race Refuel Ban

Not everyone in the F1 paddock thinks much of the latest proposal regarding a refueling ban for the upcoming years. Despite helping to decrease costs within Formula 1 – bringing the fuel pricing to a minimum – the measure would not contribute a great deal to rising the spectacle or bringing more show into the sport. Or at least that's how Ferrari test driver Marc Gene looks at it.

“I think refueling in F1 is good for the show because it means strategies can be quite varied. There are some people who think that if there was no refueling, drivers would have to do their overtaking on the track rather than in the pits,” Spanish newspaper Sport quoted Gene as saying.

The International Automobile Federation President Max Mosley also insisted in his letter to the F1 teams that their future proposals regarding re-formating the sport should focus more on “things which the public cannot see”, rather than shorter races or no more refueling pits during a race.

Nevertheless, the idea of a refueling ban into F1 did not include putting an end to the classic pit stops. Changing tires would remain an option for all teams throughout the race, while no more refueling would lead to the reexamination and redevelopment of F1 engines and focusing on ways to bring fuel consumption down to a minimum.

Such a measure, however, would not be implemented in F1 starting the 2009 season because the cars for next year are already developed under the new legislation (KERS, slick tires but same fuel tanks as before). A change that big would more than likely reduce the race to a 20-25 laps sprint and that certainly won't add to the championship's spectacle as intended.

FIA's Max Mosley is to meet with FOTA (Formula One Teams' Association) on Tuesday, at Geneva, to discuss the future or the sport and ways to make it cheaper and more affordable to independent teams. Both cost-cutting measures and plans to re-format Formula 1 are on the meeting's agenda.