Belgium: Fuel adjusted qualifying times
The FIA now publishes the weights of each car after qualifying on Saturday. Those cars that make it through to the final qualifying session must use the fuel they qualified with while the rest of the field may refuel before the race.
Below is a graph showing the actual top ten qualifying times as well as those times adjusted for the weight of fuel each car is carrying. The graph assumes a standard lap time cost of 0.3 seconds per 10kg of fuel.
From these weights we can see that the fuel-adjusted grid is a lot more mixed up than ususal. The quickest driver, fuel-adjusted, was actually Jarno Trulli. He is carrying more fuel than Fisichella but importantly he is also carrying more fuel than Heidfeld and Barrichello behind him. Unless Barrichello can get in front of him, the ‘Trulli train’ could really spoil his day.
But while Fisichella is lighter than some, his fuel-adjusted time is still good. He is quicker than Barrichello, Raikkonen and both Red Bulls!
Sebastian Vettel looks really out of place down in 8th; his fuel-adjusted time puts him 4th. Raikkonen is also faster than Kubica alongside him but Heidfeld’s time shows just how much BMW have improved here.
With such a mixed up grid and the unpredictability of Spa it looks like we are in for an exciting race on Sunday!
2009 Belgian Grand Prix car weights
Image: Toyota