Germany 2009: Post-Qualifying Car Weights

With the weights of all twenty cars now published, we can see who did well in qualifying and who did less well. Williams reckon it takes 2.43kg of fuel of cover a normalised distance of 5km, which for the Nurburgring, means the cars will be using approximately 2.5kg of gas per lap of the 5.148km circuit. And with the stated and weighed fuels of the cars, we can take a guess at just how far into the first stint they can each go before having to pit, weather and safety car periods aside.

Germany 2009 Post-Qualifying Car Weights		Car Weight Kilograms	Fuel Weight Kilograms	First Stop Estimated Lap
1.	Mark Webber Red Bull Racing	661	54	22
2.	Rubens Barrichello Brawn	647	40	16
3.	Jenson Button Brawn	644	37	15
4.	Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing	661	54	22
5.	Lewis Hamilton McLaren	654.5	47.5	19
6.	Heikki Kovalainen McLaren	664	57	23
7.	Adrian Sutil Force India	678.5	71.5	29
8.	Felipe Massa Ferrari	673.5	66.5	27
9.	Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari	674	67	27
10.	Nelson Piquet Jr. Renault	676	69	28
11.	Nick Heidfeld BMW	681	74	30
12.	Fernando Alonso Renault	668.2	61.2	24
13.	Kazuki Nakajima Williams	683.6	76.6	31
14.	Jarno Trulli Toyota	683.7	76.7	31
15.	Nico Rosberg Williams	689.6	82.6	33
16.	Robert Kubica BMW	673.5	66.5	27
17.	Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso	674.5	67.5	27
18.	Giancarlo Fisichella Force India	662.5	55.5	22
19.	Timo Glock Toyota	662.3	55.3	22
20.	Sebastien Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso	689.5	82.5	33

From the table we can see just how well Mark Webber did. The Australian was heavier than both the Brawn drivers and the same as his team mate, whom he beat by 0.25s. An impressive performance by the former Minardi and Jaguar pilot. Also doing well in Q3 was Adrian Sutil, who not only posted Force India’s best ever grid position, but also managed it on a heavier full than the Ferrari cars he went faster than.

The heaviest drivers on the grid, and therefore those are going for a one-stopper, are Nico Rosberg, Sebastien Bourdais, Adrian Sutil, Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen, Nelson Piquet Jr, Nick Heidfeld, Kazuki Nakajima, Jarno Trulli and finally, Sebastien Buemi. All others have opted for a clear two stop or have enough fuel for a one, but have left it close in case they want to switch to a two.