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I caught my error right after sending my post, but you beat me to it. You are, of course, right about Kimi not winning pole in France, and I changed my message to reflect the advantage he had in the race itself. Sorry for the error.

To access the full transcript of the online chat with Bob Varsha, go to: http://www.speedtv.com/chat/

Thank you davko, it is exactly what I suspected and I believe both Alonso and Massa did use this in qualifying a Silverstone. This does not mean that the 110% rule has been abolished, an F1 car going around Silverstone in the 1:27's is slow compared to a 1:20 and the fuel consumption between the two is significant.
Add to that the serious safety hazard if a car is driven very slowly with a few cars behind on hot laps.

Bob does explain it well but I don't believe this is fully correct "It does not take into account how fast or slow you go in Q3":

The so-called 'fuel credit' is a set amount of fuel you are allowed to pump back into your car before the race, multiplied by the laps completed in Q3. It's not about lap speed, but rather laps completed, which was the secret to Kimi's trick in France; an extra lap. It does not take into account how fast or slow you go in Q3. If you go slowly, you get the extra lap worth of fuel without burning off as much of your declared load as you would by going quickly, which was what the rule was originally meant to address. So when you declare your race fuel level before Q3, and then go out and turn, say, 10 laps, you get to top-up with 10 laps worth of whatever the fuel credit is, usually a couple of kilos. But if you go burn less than the credit for a few laps, you get to add enough fuel to result in more than you declared originally, giving you the ability to go deeper into the race on fuel and allowing you greater leeway in your strategy, assuming you can maintain the needed pace at that weight.

What may have caught out some of the teams/driver is the fact that even if they complete their flying lap but still have a few seconds in the session they can complete that lap and then an inlap. They would get fuel for the first (assuming it is under 110 percent) but not the other.

This makes perfect sense, Ed, and I believe you are entirely correct, but could you clarify just what it was that was changed in the FIA regulations just prior to Magny-Cours? Because a lot of drivers and team chiefs seemed to have been caught off guard.

Also, if it would be possible to provide for us the citation in the current FIA regulations that makes any reference to an exisiting "110% rule," this would be helpful. I can't find it anywhere.

First, I don't believe anything has changed! It is just the natural evolution of working around certain rules. It could be just a matter of thinking about it or mere coincidence. When Raikkonen crossed the line at the end of his final flying lap with a few seconds remaining, he or his team may have told him hey, don't pit, you can go an additional lap so go slow but not too slow and we'll get a bit more fuel than what you actually burn. Or they may have actually thought of it.

Remember that it is a very fine balance to time your flyer to end with just seconds left. In many cases it doesn't work but at Silverstone we saw both Alonso and Massa certainly use it to their advantage.

Second, with regards to the 110% rule, yes it is frustrating as the Sporting regulations don't mention it. It was an additional rule that was passed to the teams prior to the start of the 2006 season when the current qualifying regulations were introduced.

Although not an official source, this link provides the most details about this rule.

Note: When it was first announced, I personally thought it was a rumour as it didn't make it to the 'official' Sporting Regulations however I later learned it was fact.

Your citation is from February 2006. Don't you have anything more recent? My whole point is that the FIA has reversed itself since then -- indeed, I'll wager the rule was written in the regulations back when it was still in effect! That a current sporting regulation wouldn't appear anywhere in writing -- i.e., that it's just "out there" -- seems a bit of a stretch.

Besides, if indeed nothing has changed, are you saying all of the team members and TV pundits who spoke of it this weekend are just talking through their hats? C'mon.

Yes it was back in February 2006 when this rule was introduced and no it was not in the books back then. You can check the regulations page on the FIA web site (they list the regulations for 2006 and 2007 so you can compare)

Fact: If a rule has been changed all the teams will know about it.

The TV pundits called it a 'trick' or something of the like. A 'trick' cannot be knowing of a rule change but more like maximising the benefit from a rule and hence to me, nothing has changed.

In conclusion, my aim is to try and clarify the issue you have raised and I have done that to the best of my knowledge. As there is no 'official' release on this matter, there will be more than one opinion on this. If you are still convinced that the 110% rule has been removed (without telling the teams) then that is your opinion and I respect that but I don't have to agree with that opinion.

The media sometimes makes up a story and then believes it.

Right you are about the regs then vs. now. Maybe this is the sort of "rule" that was decreed by Charlie Whiting himself, using his powers to best "interpet" the FIA regulations.

In any case, until I get further documentation or corroborative evidence of its deletion (and, mind you, the pundits also maintain the figure is 107%, not 110) I'll withhold making any categorical assumptions. Perhaps you'll undertake to do the same. The media, after all, must have gotten their information from somewhere.

Agreed If I get further information regarding this issue I will make sure it is posted here.

Now lets enjoy this season, it is looking set to be a close one with more than just 2 fighting for the championship

I find the third quali round idiotic anyway. 11-odd laps to burn the fuel so that one good lap can happen... Miss the good old 12-lap deals. Those were the days.

davko wrote:Right you are about the regs then vs. now. Maybe this is the sort of "rule" that was decreed by Charlie Whiting himself, using his powers to best "interpet" the FIA regulations.

In any case, until I get further documentation or corroborative evidence of its deletion (and, mind you, the pundits also maintain the figure is 107%, not 110) I'll withhold making any categorical assumptions. Perhaps you'll undertake to do the same. The media, after all, must have gotten their information from somewhere.

Media people can make mistakes too you know. You seem to be a tad consumed by the point.

jacfan wrote:

davko wrote:Right you are about the regs then vs. now. Maybe this is the sort of "rule" that was decreed by Charlie Whiting himself, using his powers to best "interpet" the FIA regulations.

In any case, until I get further documentation or corroborative evidence of its deletion (and, mind you, the pundits also maintain the figure is 107%, not 110) I'll withhold making any categorical assumptions. Perhaps you'll undertake to do the same. The media, after all, must have gotten their information from somewhere.

Media people can make mistakes too you know. You seem to be a tad consumed by the point.

Ah yes, but it certainly rattled Massa when asked about it after qualy in france
Strange that some of the drivers seemed to be unaware of change.