Head: Fuel Loads will Make Races 'Unpredictable'

Williams technical director Patrick Head believes the new regulations, banning refueling between qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday, will make the race results this year entirely unpredictable, also stating there is a possibility Formula One will see a Minardi on pole position.

The FIA, the sport's governing body, has announced a set of rules for the upcoming season, among them a radical change to the procedure of qualifying. Drivers will now have one lap each in two sessions to determine the starting grid order, however each driver may be carrying a different fuel load since the FIA has also banned refueling after the second qualifying session, on Saturday.

"Depending on the circuit, an extra 10kg of fuel costs somewhere between 0.25 and 0.4 seconds a lap," Head told the Guardian. "Last year the Minardi wasn't too bad on speed in qualifying and there was about three seconds a lap between it and the Ferrari. So let's say that Michael [Schumacher] decides to run 80kg of fuel in qualifying and the Minardi has just 10kg. That difference shakes out at about 2.8sec, so it could be pretty damn close."

Head added that different strategies among teams could well lead to surprise wins, stating that the race outcome may not be clear before the last few laps are run.

"It is true to say it is quite likely that you won't really see who's going to win the race for the last 15 laps," said Head. "It will be extremely unpredictable."

Sauber's technical director Willy Rampf also told the British newspaper that actual comparison of speed between the cars could possibly only be obtained by the Friday qualifying session results.

"Friday's afternoon qualifying session will be the first time that everybody runs with a similar fuel load in a battle to set the quickest time," Rampf said. "The story will not be so clear-cut in qualifying on Saturday, because people will be running different fuel loads dependent on the race strategies.

"Australia is usually a one-stop race, but now we have to reconsider the situation. It's going to make the start of the season very unpredictable."