Fuel fiasco as Virgin discover tank does not hold enough to complete grand prix!

The Formula 1 rookies discovered the major problem in pre-season

testing and again in the opening grand prix in Bahrain and have been granted special dispensation by the FIA to make the necessary changes to the chassis. It is understood that the fuel tank is 12 litres short of the required amount to complete an average race distance.

The necessary modifications to the VR-01 car will not be carried out until the start of the European season at the earliest, meaning there is little chance of Timo Glock or Lucas Di Grassis breasting the chequered flag at tomorrow's 58-lap Australian Grand Prix around the 3.295-mile Albert Park street circuit in Melbourne. Their prospects for rounds three and four in Malaysia and China also look bleak.

May's Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona is the earliest in which the team forecast they will have corrected the fault, and even that is barring no unforeseen problems delaying them further. The new chassis will also have to undergo a mandatory crash test.

Virgin's debut in Bahrain two weeks ago lasted less than 18 laps with Di Grassi suffering hydraulics issues and Glock retiring with a gearbox failure.

But a fuel tank that does not hold enough petrol is a major concern – not to mention a costly and embarrassing misjudgment – for John Booth's team, who were accepted onto the 2010 grid last June and have genuine hopes of building towards a points-finish in their maiden Formula 1 season.

Such a problem would not have mattered in previous seasons but with the governing body taking the decision to outlaw mid-race refuelling this year a month before Virgin were accepted, the oversight seriously undermines their ambitions.

Booth's goal for year one is to finish as the highest of the new entrants but they are already behind Lotus, whose drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli completed the full race distance in Bahrain.

Changing a chassis mid-season is not normally allowed but the team backed by Sir Richard Branson have been given the green light to make the changes.

Branson said following the team's debut in Bahrain that he hoped Virgin would be competing at the front of the grid by 2012, and while teething problems are understandable for a small team effectively built from scratch at the Dinnington garage, this could prove a major headache.

Virgin technical director Nick Wirth said yesterday: "We recently applied to the FIA for permission to change the size of the fuel tank on the grounds of reliability and we are pleased that the FIA has granted us this permission.

"It has become clear during pre-season testing and our debut race in Bahrain that our fuel tank capacity is marginal and if not addressed there is the possibility that fuel pick-up could become an issue in certain circumstances.

"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, and the tank capacity now needs to be increased accordingly.

"We thank the FIA for permitting this change, which we expect to introduce in the early part of the European season."

The Lotus pairing got the better of Glock and Di Grassi in free practice yesterday with the German six seconds off the pace set by 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton.

Jenson Button was second quickest with Mark Webber third and Michael Schumacher fourth.