The surprisingly interesting world of F1 fuel tanks

On this episode we’re lifting the lid (or should that be peaking under the fuel cap?) of F1 fuel tanks - an area of the car some might assume is fairly basic and uninteresting, but (like everything else in F1) is actually incredibly complex and has a huge impact on performance.

Joining us to share his wisdom is Giles Dawson of Aero Tech Laboratories (ATL), who shares details about fuel tank (or fuel bladder) design considerations, safety considerations, the materials used in their construction, the lessons learned from Romain Grosjean’s infamous fiery crash in Bahrain in 2020, and how the fuel tank influences performance, amongst other things. 

Before that, host Edd Straw and former F1 technical director Gary Anderson discuss some of the issues arising from the Qatar Grand Prix, including whether F1 needs permanent stewards and why Alex Albon’s wing mirror fell of his Williams, bringing out the yellow flags Lando Norris later failed to slow for. 

And as ever, Gary and Edd round off the show by answering listener questions, which this week are on power unit failures, engine mapping, and Cadillac's windtunnel test programme.

Got a tech question? Drop Edd and Gary a question via [e-mail]

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• Birmingham on 17th January - https://podlifeevents.com/event-details/the-race-f1-podcast-live-from-birmingham-17th-jan-2025-tickets

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