The weight of the single-seaters for the Brazilian GP

Since the 2009 season, the FIA has been making public the weight of the cars, with the fuel load easily calculable, following the Saturday qualifying session.

Here is the weight of each qualifying car for the Japanese Grand Prix, sorted in ascending order. Additionally, the specific amount of fuel as well as the driver’s position on the starting grid for the race have been included. This is to observe the different strategies.

Even though this qualifying session was unusual, there is a certain logic in the fuel strategies. Thus Barrichello is on pole but is the lightest along with Heidfeld, a surprise! The German might then decide to start from the pit lane. Then we find all the members of the top 10 who qualified in Q3, except for the McLaren drivers, who are very poorly placed on the grid and have little fuel.

Nakajima is the best placed in the top 10 since he has about 15 kilos more fuel compared to Barrichello. In an intermediate zone, we find those eliminated in Q2 like Grosjean or Button. Finally, Vettel and Fisichella bring up the rear and will have cars weighing 683.5 kilos, or 78.5 kilos of fuel.