It was a 25-year-old gearhead who did it.
It’s always a headache to put the wrong fuel into your car’s tank. Modern cars have a lower chance of filling up with diesel or gasoline, simply because the wrong nozzle isn’t compatible. The gas station might make an error but this is very rare. You should be extra careful if you have an older car. There is nothing to stop you from filling up with the wrong fuel. The McLaren F1 GTR car is quite old, as you may have guessed.
In 1995, the first race car was constructed. This was many years before misfuelling detection devices were introduced by manufacturers. It’s easy to fill up the F1 GTR with diesel, as you can see. Francois Perrodo, an amateur racer, did just that recently. Ouch!
It’s always hard to admit that you made a mistake. Perrodo made the decision to share his error on social media so that everyone could see it, and hopefully laugh at it. Perrodo posts two Instagram photos about how he tried to enjoy a track day a few week ago, but the F1 GTR didn’t start its engine. A sticker indicating that the car is “Francois No Diesel” was placed above the fuel cap.
“I don’t know what was going through my mind at that moment (actually probably nothing), but I was so happy and exaggerated I grabbed the first available nozzle (which was actually blue, like 97 ultimate). Perrodo says that I filled the car up. McLaren F1 owners should remember this: The car is amazing and Gordon would be proud. The car will not run on diesel …” unless he made one.
We don’t know the vehicle’s current condition or if it can start. If you want to put diesel in a gasoline vehicle, you will need to drain the fuel tank and flush the system. If the fuel is properly poured, the engine should run again within a few minutes. We aren’t so sure with the F1 GTR.