26/03/2010
NEWS STORY
Virgin has been given permission to change the fuel tank on its cars after it was discovered that the current tanks on the car, which was designed entirely using CFD, are too small to last a race distance.
In a statement issued this morning, the team's technical director, Nick Wirth, said: "We recently applied to the FIA for permission to change the size of the fuel tank on the grounds of reliability and we are pleased that the FIA has granted us this permission.
"It has become clear during pre-season testing and our debut race in Bahrain that our fuel tank capacity is marginal and if not addressed there is the possibility that fuel pick-up could become an issue in certain circumstances."
It is understood that the size of the current fuel tank means that the cars are approximately 12 litres short of the required fuel to complete an average race distance.
An FIA spokesperson subsequently confirmed that the British has been given the all-clear to make the change which should be completed in time for the start of the European season in early May.
The change will require modifications to the chassis which will necessitate a mandatory crash test.