Was Vettel short on fuel in Bahrain?

[John S]

Now this put's a different slant on the Bahrain result, Ron's comment about Seb speeding up at the end of the race to stave off Rosberg makes the theory sound plausible, or is it more mind games?

Ron Dennis has been quoted as questioning Red Bull's claim that Sebastian Vettel suffered a spark plug failure whilst leading the 2010 season opener in Bahrain last weekend.

Initially after the 22-year-old pole sitter gave up the lead of the race to the eventual three podium-getters, Red Bull diagnosed an exhaust problem. A subsequent media statement clarified that it was actually a spark plug problem within the Renault engine that was the matter, but Spain's AS newspaper reported last week that Vettel simply slowed to prevent running out of fuel.

"The lap times dropped so rapidly that one can imagine the electronic control unit (ECU) switching to a conservative programme to save fuel," Dennis is quoted as saying in a report of the Cologne newspaper Express.

Briton Dennis is the chairman and a 15 per cent shareholder of McLaren Group, whose subsidiary McLaren Electronic Systems (MES) supplies the control ECU run mandatorily by all F1 teams. The 62-year-old was speaking late last week at the launch of McLaren's new MP4-12C production supercar.

His theory would explain how Vettel's RB6, having perhaps conserved enough fuel for a final surge, was able to record fully competitive times in the final laps to prevent Nico Rosberg from passing.

During Dennis' long reign as McLaren team boss, Adrian Newey worked for a long time with the British team. And Newey, the main author of the RB6, is renowned for pushing the envelope with his F1 designs.

"The problem with the Red Bull could be design," Dennis continued. "It could be the fuel tank is too small, or the fuel consumption is higher than they expected," he added.

Renault's engine boss Rob White told Express that the French marque has also been analysing the cause of Vettel's Bahrain problem. "The investigation to identify the reason for Vettel's engine problem is ongoing," he said. "A problem with the spark plug was found, but we have no reason to suspect a defect in the component itself."

Updatef1.com, Today

[lkjohnson1950]

That might be a factor, but on Speed's coverage the car sounded terrible. When I heard it I immediately thought exhaust.

Lonny

[raindancer]

I think Vettel ran out of fuel just after he crossed the chequered flag. This statement seems plausible considering that he had slowed for a few laps before the finish, he should have more fuel left.

[markb]

Sounds like a valid statement from Ron Dennis....after all, if anybody would know, he should!!  This now may just about be one of the answers to our prayers....perhaps all the teams will not be more prudent with their fuel management, and this might make races a bit "closer", we shall see  ....

[Monty]

Of course conversations could be coded but don't forget we heard Vettel on the radio asking if it could be fixed with the reply that the problem was mechanical. Even on the TV you could hear the engine note was sick. I thought it sounded like it was only running on 7 cylinders but a broken header would make a similar noise via the television.
I fully accepted that a spark plug could be to blame rationalising to myself that the problem could be intermittent therefore giving Vettel more power some of the time.
Of course it is also possible that there was a real mechanical problem and a fuel problem. Let's face it Vettel was going so fast he must have been using more fuel than everyone else.

[Jericoke]

I would be surprised if there weren't any cars that were caught short of fuel in the first race of no refueling.

[Alianora La Canta]

Vettel might have been short of fuel, but I think the spark plug problem was a bigger influence on his race. Fuel shortages don't make the car sound wrong half a race before the fuel runs out...

[Jericoke]

Vettel might have been short of fuel, but I think the spark plug problem was a bigger influence on his race. Fuel shortages don't make the car sound wrong half a race before the fuel runs out...

It can if 'dialing back' causes an unforseen engine problem.  I don't know if the Engine Controller was updated for the no refueling rule, and it's possible that whatever setting Vettel used for saving fuel shut down a cylinder (or exposed a problem that wouldn't exist at top speed/fuel)

[cosworth151]

I was thinking along the same lines, Jeri. If, for example, the ECU made the engine run too lean in "fuel save" mode, it might have damaged the engine.

[Alianora La Canta]

It can if 'dialing back' causes an unforseen engine problem.  I don't know if the Engine Controller was updated for the no refueling rule, and it's possible that whatever setting Vettel used for saving fuel shut down a cylinder (or exposed a problem that wouldn't exist at top speed/fuel) {Jericoke - 2 posts ago}

The ECU is standard across F1. If Vettel had that problem, Webber should have had it too - along with Kubica's Renault (all three had the same engine model - Petrov's car had already had suspension trouble by the halfway mark). Since neither Mark nor Robert had any known engine problems during the race, I don't think ECU programming is to blame. A faulty individual ECU might be, but then there would be little chance of a repeat.

[Jericoke]

It can if 'dialing back' causes an unforseen engine problem.  I don't know if the Engine Controller was updated for the no refueling rule, and it's possible that whatever setting Vettel used for saving fuel shut down a cylinder (or exposed a problem that wouldn't exist at top speed/fuel) {Jericoke - 2 posts ago}

The ECU is standard across F1. If Vettel had that problem, Webber should have had it too - along with Kubica's Renault (all three had the same engine model - Petrov's car had already had suspension trouble by the halfway mark). Since neither Mark nor Robert had any known engine problems during the race, I don't think ECU programming is to blame. A faulty individual ECU might be, but then there would be little chance of a repeat.

That would only be true if all three cars were on the same fuel 'strategy'.  If Vettel dialed his back further than the other two, it would behave differently.  More likely, if the ECU was involved at all, it would be a matter of the entire system, that the ECU uncovered an engine problem, not the other way around.

Whatever Vettel's problem was, I can't imagine an organisation like RBR would let it happen again.  Expect Vettel to keep second place much closer next race to conserve fuel/engine. (Indeed, if he can force the second place car to overheat by following closely, that would be a better strategy in terms of the championship, right?)

[John S]

The mystery of the spark plug still remains according to this report from Speed TV.com

Renault Not Taking Blame For Vettel Problem

A broken spark plug was the "symptom, not the cause" of the problem aboard Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull in Bahrain two weeks ago.

That is the information of a spokesman for the team's engine supplier Renault, according to the Cologne publication Express.

Vettel, 22, said Thursday that the problem had been traced to a broken tip at the top of a Champion spark plug fitted to his V8 engine.

But Renault's engine technical boss Ron White also said the actual cause of the problem remains "a mystery".

[markb]

At this morning's press conference, Horner re-confirmed that it was a faulty "Spark-plug" that caused Vettle's car to suddenly start slowing down, and NOT fuel shortage, well there we have it, Horner's put us all in or places, including Ron Dennis, who he called "deaf" !!

[Jericoke]

At this morning's press conference, Horner re-confirmed that it was a faulty "Spark-plug" that caused Vettle's car to suddenly start slowing down, and NOT fuel shortage, well there we have it, Horner's put us all in or places, including Ron Dennis, who he called "deaf" !!

Not that I have any basis to doubt Horner on this particular subject, but I don't believe that F1 teams are required to give the complete and honest truth on all subjects.  If they want to mess with the other teams, mess with us, and mess with Renault/Champion, that's all part of the game.  If the season turns out dull, we might have to look for all our fun from the press.   

[markb]

Jeri, agree, but I think one has to take what team principles tell us/the media with a pinch of salt sometimes.  As we have known/found out in the past, they tell us one thing and the next day, everything changes.