Fuel
Published with permission from the Federation Internationale de l' Automobile.
ARTICLE 19: FUEL
19.1 Purpose of Article 19:
19.1.1 The purpose of this Article is to ensure that the fuel used in Formula One is petrol as this term is generally understood.
19.1.2 The detailed requirements of this Article are intended to ensure the use of fuels which are predominantly composed of compounds normally found in commercial fuels and to prohibit the use of specific power-boosting chemical compounds. Acceptable compounds and compound classes are defined in 19.2 and 19.4.4. In addition, to cover the presence of low level impurities, the sum of components lying outside the 19.2 and 19.4.4 definitions are limited to 1% max m/m of the total fuel.
19.1.3 Any petrol which appears to have been formulated in order to subvert the purpose of this regulation will be deemed to be outside it.
19.2 Definitions:
| Paraffins | - | straight chain and branched alkanes. |
| Olefins | - | straight chain and branched mono-olefins and di-olefins. Monocyclic mono-olefins (with five or more carbon atoms in the ring) with or without paraffinic side chains. |
| Di-olefins | - | straight chain or branched or monocyclic or bicyclic or tricyclic hydrocarbons (with five or more carbon atoms in any ring) with or without paraffinic side chains, containing two double bonds per molecule. |
| Naphthenes | - | monocyclic alkanes (with five or more carbon atoms in the ring) with or without paraffinic side chains. |
| Aromatics | - | monocyclic and bicyclic aromatic rings with or without paraffinic or olefinic side chains and/or fused naphthenic rings. Only one double bond may be present outside the aromatic ring. Fused naphthenic rings must meet the naphthene definition above. |
| Oxygenates | - | specified organic compounds containing oxygen. |
| Property | Units | Min | Max | Test Method |
| RON | 95.0 | 102.0 | ASTM D 2699-86 | |
| MON | 85.0 | ASTM D 2700-86 | ||
| Oxygen | %m/m | 2.7 | Elemental Analysis | |
| Nitrogen | mg/kg | 500 | ASTM D 4629 | |
| Benzene | %v/v | 1.0 | EN 238 | |
| RVP | hPa | 450 | 600 | ASTM D 323 |
| Lead | g/l | 0.005 | ASTM D 3237 | |
| Density at 15°C | kg/m³ | 720.0 | 775.0 | ASTM D 4052 |
| Oxidation stability | minutes | 360 | ASTM D 525 | |
| Existent gum | mg/100ml | 5.0 | EN 26246 | |
| Sulphur | mg/kg | 10 | ASTM D 5453 | |
| Copper corrosion | rating | C1 | ISO 2160 | |
| Electrical Conductivity | pS/m | 200 | ASTM D 2624 | |
Distillation characteristics:
| At E70°C | %v/v | 20.0 | 48.0 | ISO 3405 |
| At E100°C | %v/v | 46.0 | 71.0 | ISO 3405 |
| At E150°C | %v/v | 75.0 | ISO 3405 | |
| Final Boiling Point | °C | 210 | ISO 3405 | |
| Residue | %v/v | 2.0 | ISO 3405 |
19.4 Composition of the fuel:
19.4.1 The composition of the petrol must comply with the detailed below:
| Units | Min | Max | Test Method | |
| Aromatics | %v/v | 35* | ASTM D 1319 | |
| Olefins | %v/v | 18* | ASTM D 1319 | |
| Total di-olefins | %m/m | 1 | GCMS | |
| Total styrene and alkyl derivatives | %m/m | 1 | GCMS |
In addition, the fuel must contain no substance which is capable of exothermic reaction in the absence of external oxygen.
19.4.2 The total of individual hydrocarbon components present at concentrations of less than 5%m/m must be at least 30% m/m of the fuel.
19.4.3 The total concentration of each hydrocarbon group in the total fuel sample (defined by carbon number and hydrocarbon type), must not exceed the limits given in the table below:
| % m/m | C4 | C5 | C6 | C7 | C8 | C9+ | Non PONA* | Unassigned |
| Paraffins | 10 | 30 | 25 | 25 | 55 | 20 | - | |
| Naphtenes | - | 5 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | - | |
| Olefins | 5 | 20 | 20 | 15 | 10 | 10 | - | |
| Aromatics | - | - | 1.2 | 35 | 35 | 30 | - | |
| Maximum | 15 | 40 | 45 | 50 | 60 | 45 | 1 | 5 |
For the purposes of this table, a gas chromatographic technique must be employed which can classify hydrocarbons in the total fuel sample such that all those identified are allocated to the appropriate cell of the table. Compounds present at concentrations below 0.1% by mass may be deemed unassigned, except that it is the responsibility of the fuel approval laboratory to ensure that components representing at least 95% by mass of the total fuel are assigned. The sum of the non PONA and unassigned hydrocarbons must not exceed 5.0% by mass of the total fuel sample.
19.4.4 The only oxygenates permitted are:
Methanol (MeOH)
Ethanol (EtOH)
Iso-propyl alcohol (IPA)
Iso-butyl alcohol (IBA)
Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE)
Ethyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (ETBE)
Tertiary Amyl Methyl Ether (TAME)
Di-Isopropyl Ether (DIPE)
n-Propyl alcohol (NPA)
Tertiary Butyl Alcohol (TBA)
n-Butyl Alcohol (NBA)
Secondary Butyl Alcohol (SBA)
19.4.5 Manganese based additives are not permitted
19.5 Air:
Only ambient air may be mixed with the fuel as an oxidant.
19.6 Safety:
19.6.1 All competitors must be in possession of a Material Safety Data Sheet for each type of petrol used. This sheet must be made out in accordance with EC Directive 93/112/EEC and all information contained therein strictly adhered to.
19.7 Fuel approval:
19.7.1 Before any fuel may be used in an Event, two separate five litre samples, in suitable containers, must be submitted to the FIA for analysis and approval. 19.7.2 No fuel may be used in an Event without prior written approval of the FIA.
19.8 Sampling and testing at an Event:
19.8.1 All samples will be taken in accordance with FIA Formula One fuel sampling procedure, a copy of which may be found in the Appendix to these regulations.
19.8.2 Fuel samples taken during an Event will be checked for conformity by using a gas chromatographic technique which will compare the sample taken with an approved fuel. Samples, which differ from the approved fuel in a manner consistent with evaporative loss, will be considered to conform. However, the FIA retains the right to subject the fuel sample to further testing at an FIA approved laboratory.
19.8.3 GC peak areas of the sample will be compared with those obtained from the reference fuel. Increases in any given peak area (relative to its adjacent peak areas) which are greater than 12%, or an absolute amount greater than 0.1% for compounds present at concentrations below 0.8%, will be deemed not to comply.
If a peak is detected in a fuel sample that was absent in the corresponding reference fuel, and its peak area represents more than 0.10% of the summed peak areas of the fuel, the fuel will be deemed not to comply.
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