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REVEALED: Mystery Behind the Missing Fuel That led to Aston Martin driver Vettel’s Disqualification

An entertaining race in every aspect, the drama continues well after the teams packed up. Amongst the celebration, a few hours after the Hungarian GP, the FIA announced that Sebastian Vettel had been disqualified. The Aston Martin driver stood on the podium after a well-earned P2; Vettel may have to give up his trophy to Lewis Hamilton over fuel issues with the FIA.

While the administration has made the announcement, Aston Martin has filed an appeal. Team principal Otmar Szafnauer said, “I can confirm an intent to appeal. Once we learn more, then if we have grounds we will appeal, and if not, we’ll drop it. But we have 96 hours.” He explains that 1.44litres of fuel should still be there in the car.

Formula One F1 – Hungarian Grand Prix – Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary – August 1, 2021 Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel in action REUTERS/Florion Goga

Vettel had to run to parc ferme as his car suffered an issue with the lift pump. This could be one reason the FIA haven’t been able to get the amount of fuel they need. Otmar said, “It looks like, I don’t know… for some reason, the lift pumps wouldn’t get the fuel out of the car.” 

So, either these faulty fuel pumps or a leak in the car may be to blame.

Aston Martin has 96 hours to show the FIA that the fuel was there. The car is currently impounded in Budapest and will be taken over to the FIA facility in France. The team is confident in their calculations, so it’s a waiting game for Seb.

The missing fuel in the Aston Martin

The FIA guidelines require cars to provide a 1l fuel sample at the end of the race. Sebastian’s Aston Martin could only provide 300ml. This simply implies that there was lesser fuel put into the car. This would give the driver an advantage as it makes the machine lighter.

The Steward’s verdict declared: “After the race, it was not possible to take a 1.0-liter sample of fuel from car 5. The team was given several opportunities to attempt to remove the required amount of fuel from the tank, however, it was only possible to pump 0.3 liters out.”

Aston Martin in hoger beroep tegen diskwalificatie Vettel #EstebanOcon #LewisHamilton #SebastianVettelhttps://t.co/U6B2LLmR8a pic.twitter.com/BbMBJUxG2H

— Formule 1 Nieuws (@AlleenF1) August 2, 2021

Nevertheless, Aston Martin has their math ready. Szafnauer explained, “We measure the fuel that goes in and the fuel flow meter that we have in the car, which is mandated by the FIA, measures how much fuel gets used.” Looking at those numbers, the team concluded it should leave 1.74l worth of fuel in the British car.

However, an issue is that the FIA rules state that the 1l has to be physically derived from the car. Szafnauer stands firm, stating, “It is an old rule that goes back to the days before we had all this metering and all the measurements.

Read More: Marko Has Bad News for Max Verstappen Ahead of Belgian F1 Grand Prix

It’s no doubt that Aston Martin will fervidly fight for their second podium. The team has been working hard to get their points and will not be willing to lose 18 points so easily. It all lies in the hands of the FIA now, and whether they will understand the team’s plea for reconsideration.

Watch this story: Biggest Crashes From 2020 Featuring Leclerc, Vettel & Grosjean

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