FIA clarifies rule for qualifying fuel stoppages

F1’s governing body has issued a rule clarification after Lewis Hamilton was penalised and reprimanded for an incident at the end of qualifying in Montreal.

The McLaren pole sitter was fined $10,000 after driving too slowly on his Q3 in-lap and then stopping on the circuit, so that enough fuel was left in the tank for a sample to be tested by the FIA.

Not everyone was happy with the British team’s actions.

“I don’t know all the details so it’s hard to comment,” Mercedes team boss and FOTA technical chairman Ross Brawn is quoted as saying in Canada.

“But we must not come to a situation where cars run out of fuel after their last lap because they want to be running as light as possible.”

According to Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, the situation was discussed on Sunday during a meeting of team bosses and the race director Charlie Whiting.

Whiting reportedly clarified that, in future, any car that runs out of fuel at the end of qualifying will be summoned to the stewards, risking penalties if the reason for the stoppage is not ‘force majeure’.

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