The FIA has revealed the fuel loads with which all 20 cars will start the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. We analyse the data here.
The fuel weights show that the vast majority of Lewis Hamilton’s huge 0.67s pole-winning margin was a pure speed advantage.
Adjusting for fuel loads, the 2008 world champion was a full 0.5s faster than nearest rival Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull, underlining the fact that he and the KERS-equipped McLaren are in a class of their own in Abu Dhabi.
The field in general is more spread out than usual, with some 1.15s covering positions two to 10 once fuel loads are taken out of the equation – indicating that the Yas Marina circuit is proving quite a car sorter.
The difference within teams is less pronounced, and in the case of Brawn and BMW the team-mates set near-identical fuel-corrected times.
Other noteworthy points are that Vettel qualified faster than team-mate Mark Webber despite a heavier car; taking fuel into account increases his advantage from 0.11s to 0.23s.
On a similar basis, Jarno Trulli was in fact the fourth fastest driver, but lost two grid positions to the low-fuelled Brawns.
Jenson Button all but matched team-mate Rubens Barrichello’s time, but having been quicker than the Brazilian all weekend was disappointed to qualify behind him.
Without the tyre vibration that hindered him in Q3, the new world champion reckoned he would have qualified second behind Hamilton, which seems a plausible assumption.
BMW has opted for divergent strategies for Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld, but the team-mates ended up alongside each other on the fourth row anyway; the German’s longer first stint will give him the chance to get the upper hand in the race.
Nico Rosberg carried more fuel than anyone else in the top 10, but ninth on the grid was an accurate reflection of his pace, and a long first stint is probably his best bet of snatching a point or two and protecting his seventh place in the world championship.
Fuel consumption here is approximately 2.68kg for each 3.45-mile lap, so we can expect the top 10 starters to make their first pit stops between laps 16 and 20 – a slightly narrower range than usual.
Hamilton said after qualifying that if he’d known in advance just how fast he was going to be, he would have gone for a heavier fuel load to neutralise potential challenges in the race from those on longer opening stints.
Provided he gets the start right, however, it seems unlikely that he will be troubled by Vettel running two laps longer because, based on the practice and qualifying form, the German probably won't be able to stay within close enough range to capitalise.
Vettel has the most fuel of the top seven starters and is likely to go one lap further than Webber, two laps further than Button and three laps further than Barrichello.
Rosberg’s longish first stint may give him the chance he needs to get into a points-paying position, potentially at the expense of Kubica, who is scheduled to pit two to three laps earlier than him.
All of those outside the top 10, who were able to decide their fuel strategies after qualifying, have opted for much longer opening stints of between 30 and 36 laps (the Renaults being the heaviest).
Many of them may try to negotiate the 55-lap race with just one stop, which might turn them into spoilers when the leaders emerge from their first stops.
An early safety car period would also play into their hands, reducing the field spread, and it will be particularly interesting to see what progress Heikki Kovalainen – who should surely have one of the fastest cars in the race – is able to make from near the back of the grid.
Alex Sabine
Car weights including fuel (in kg, by grid order)
1. HAMILTON McLaren 658.5
2. VETTEL Red Bull 663
3. WEBBER Red Bull 660
4. BARRICHELLO Brawn 655
5. BUTTON Brawn 657
6. TRULLI Toyota 661
7. KUBICA BMW 654.5
8. HEIDFELD BMW 664
9. ROSBERG Williams 665
10. BUEMI Toro Rosso 661.5
11. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 692
12. KOBAYASHI Toyota 694.3
13. NAKAJIMA Williams 704
14. ALGUERSUARI Toro Rosso 696.5
15. ALONSO Renault 708.3
16. LIUZZI Force India 695
17. SUTIL Force India 696
18. KOVALAINEN McLaren 697
19. GROSJEAN Renault 710.8
20. FISICHELLA Ferrari 692.5