Renault expecting ‘a lot of one-stop races’ in F1 2019

The combination of an increased fuel allowance plus a more conservative tyre selection will lead to a lot of one-stop races in Formula 1 this year, according to Renault technical chief Marcin Budkowski.

F1 will increase the permitted amount of fuel for races from 105kg to 110kg in a bid to allow drivers to push harder through races, with the same goal prompting Pirelli to take a more conservative approach to its tyre picks in 2019.

Budkowski explained how the increased fuel allowance would ease some of the pressure on teams and allow drivers to push more in races, but, combined with the longer-lasting tyres, would result in more one-stop strategies being optimum.

“There were a number of races, even last year, [where] people were not taking 105kg but were taking even less because the disadvantage of carrying more fuel is that the car is slower because the weight of the car is higher,” Budkowski explained.

“It’s always a compromise between the quantity of fuel. But there were a number of races were even at 105kg, fuelling completely the tank, wouldn’t allow you to race properly and the amount of fuel saving that teams had to do during the race was very significant.

“Couple this with some tyre saving, and obviously there was a number of races where the drivers were really managing the pace rather than pushing the car.

“The steps that have been taken in terms of increasing the fuel capacity should allow, at these specific races, the drivers to push as hard as they want to push. Couple that with the tyre choices which are probably a bit more conservative than last year, there will be less tyre saving.

“The issue here is that we are going to have a lot of one-stop races, I think most of the races will be one-stop races this year, but on the other hand, the drivers will be able to push on the tyres rather than not.”

Pirelli has already confirmed its tyre picks for the opening four races of the 2019 season, opting for harder selections at each round than last year.

Additional reporting by Lewis Larkam.