Frentzen127 wrote:Just a quick question, were cars this long back when refueling was forbidden in '93?
Sure the engines wouldnt have been nearly as thirsty as they are now, but too long a wheelbase might be undesirable.
No - in fact, most of the cars from 1993 have a shorter wheelbase compared to the recent cars, because the 1993 cars were built in the 'wide wheel track' era. Therefore, there was more room laterally behind the driver's safety cell for the fuel tank. Compare, for example, the Williams FW15C and the FW31 (I've taken the most recent car for which there is data).
FW 15C: Wheelbase = 2921 mm [
http://www.f1technical.net/f1db/cars/745 ]
FW31: Wheelbase = 3100 mm [
http://www.f1technical.net/f1db/cars/951 ]
The fuel consumption is actually pretty similar, even though the engine format has changed a fair bit. The cars of the early 1990's would typically have fuel tanks of around 200-220 litres (for example, the FW15C has a 210 litre tank, whilst the Mclaren MP4/8 was 215 litres). Assuming a specific density of 0.74 for the fuel (about average for petrol), and a typical fuel weight of 145-165kg (the lower estimate is for Renault engines, and the upper for Ferrari engined cars), we would expect fuel tanks to be around about 200-220 litres.