Branson shock: Virgin F1 car's fuel tank too small to finish races

Melbourne, Mar 27(ANI): British billionaire businessman Richard Branson's Virgin Formula One Team will not be able to finish their races after it was revealed that their car fuel tanks lack capacity to propel them to the finish line.

Fuel tanks have to hold around 210 litres of petrol this year after refuelling was banned, but the tanks on the VR-01 are around 25 litres too small, leaving them 10 laps too short.

Without a bigger fuel tank, the Virgin team cannot finish races if they go at top speed.

According to reports, Virgin will have to shell out a million pounds to design a new tank, but the revamped cars are unlikely to be ready for at least another five races.

Meanwhile, Virgin technical director Nick Wirth said the team has got permission from the FIA to change the tanks on safety grounds.

"It has become clear during pre-season testing and our debut race in Bahrain that our fuel tank capacity is marginal. If not addressed, there is the possibility fuel pick-up could become an issue in certain circumstances," The Sun quoted Wirth, as saying.

"At the time the design of the tank was locked down in June 2009, its capacity was determined by a number of factors, some of which have since changed. That tank capacity now needs to be increased accordingly," he added.

The Bicester-based Virgin team is one of the three new teams featuring on the grid this year. (ANI)