Refuelling during races could yet return in 2017, with FIA president Jean Todt confirming the proposal is back on the table for discussion at an upcoming meeting.
Team bosses voted against its return when it formed part of plans to reinvent the sport next year, citing cost and unpopularity amongst fans as the main reasons.
However Todt says the proposal to reintroduce it will be discussed again during a two-day meeting in Geneva next week, and believes the cost argument is no longer relevant.
“Yes, it is true,” he said during Autosport International when asked if refuelling was again up for discussion.
“You know the reason why it was banned, refuelling? It was the cost of carrying the fuel rig. Now we are in a kind of modern area where we know how it works.
“We are talking about 50,000 euros a year,” he added. “If it is good for the show, I’m in favour of reducing the cost but that is not a key point on the global cost of Formula 1.”
However a leading figure within the sport is quoted by the BBC as saying: “It’s just another boomerang. Many things are canned and then reappear on the agenda. I wouldn’t read too much into it. It’s nonsense.”