The weight of the single-seaters before the race
Since the 2009 season, the FIA has made public the weight of the cars, with the fuel load that can be easily calculated following the Saturday qualifying session. Here is the weight of each qualifying car for the Malaysian Grand Prix, sorted in ascending order. Additionally, the exact amount of fuel has been added as […]
Since the 2009 season, the FIA has made public the weight of the cars, with the fuel load that can be easily calculated following the Saturday qualifying session.
Here is the weight of each qualifying car for the Malaysian Grand Prix, sorted in ascending order. Additionally, the exact amount of fuel has been added as well as the driver’s position on the starting grid for the Malaysian race. This is to observe the different strategies:
It is noted that the top 10 generally have the least fuel, hence a two-stop strategy like Brawn or Toyota drivers.
The drivers eliminated in Q2 in Q1 have the most fuel. This is the case for McLaren drivers with a one-stop strategy, possibly playing on the intervention of a safety car during the race.
| Drivers | Weight of the Car (Kg) | Fuel Load (kg) | Starting Grid Position | |
| 1 | Vettel | 647 | 42 | 13 |
| 2 | Sutil | 655.5 | 50.5 | 19 |
| 3 | Rosberg | 656 | 51 | 4 |
| 4 | Webber | 656 | 51 | 5 |
| 5 | Trulli | 656.5 | 51.5 | 2 |
| 6 | Glock | 656.5 | 51.5 | 3 |
| 7 | Button | 660 | 55 | 1 |
| 8 | Räikkönen | 662.5 | 57.5 | 7 |
| 9 | Kubica | 663 | 58 | 6 |
| 10 | Barrichello | 664.5 | 59.5 | 8 |
| 11 | Bourdais | 670.5 | 65.5 | 15 |
| 12 | Fisichella | 680.5 | 75.5 | 18 |
| 13 | Alonso | 680.5 | 75.5 | 9 |
| 14 | Piquet | 681.9 | 76.9 | 17 |
| 15 | Nakajima | 683.4 | 78.4 | 11 |
| 16 | Buemi | 686.5 | 81.5 | 20 |
| 17 | Hamilton | 688 | 82 | 12 |
| 18 | Kovalainen | 688.9 | 82.9 | 14 |
| 19 | Massa | 689.5 | 84.5 | 16 |
| 20 | Heidfeld | 692 | 87 | 10 |
