Sebastian Vettel starts from pole position for tomorrow's British Grand Prix and after the FIA published the qualifying weights, the Red Bull Renault driver looks very strong at the head of the field.

The current minimum weight for the driver and car is 605kg and most, if not all teams, weigh in at well under that limit and then add ballast to the car in certain areas to help the handing of the car. The rest of the weight comes from the fuel and it is therefore relatively simple to calculate how long each driver should run at the start of the Grand Prix.

Starting at 665kg Vettel in theory should be able to run until lap 20 or 21 of the 60 lap Grand Prix, three laps more than fellow front-row starter Rubens Barrichello. Mark Webber starts third and should be pitting on lap 18 - or thereabouts in the second Red Bull - so it will be critical for both Barrichello and Webber to make good starts and try to relieve Vettel of the lead ahead of the first round of stops.

Kazuki Nakajima is lightest heading to the fifth position on the grid with his best qualifying performance of his career. However, it is pretty clear at 652.5kg, the Japanese racer will be pitting roughly on lap 14 while those around him on the grid, such as Jarno Trulli, Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg will be able to run four laps longer and perhaps get the jump in the first round of stops.

Of course, a rain shower or a bad start upsets the predicted scenarios, but in saying that, only an error should stop Vettel from pulling away from the chasing pack in the first stint.

Silverstone - Qualifying Weight (kg)
1 . K.Nakajima - Williams Toyota FW31 - 652.5
2 . K. Raikkonen - Ferrari F60 - 654.0
3 . F. Alonso - Renault R29 - 654.0
4 . R. Barrichello - Brawn Mercedes BGP 001 - 657.5
5 . J. Button - Brawn Mercedes BGP 001 - 657.5
6 . J. Trulli - Toyota TF109 - 658.0
7 . M. Webber - Red Bull Renault RB5 - 659.5
8 . T. Glock - Toyota TF109 - 660.0
9 . N. Rosberg - Williams Toyota FW31 - 661.5
10 . N. Heidfeld - BMW Sauber F1.09 - 665.5 *
11 . L. Hamilton - McLaren Mercedes MP4-24 - 666.0 *
12 . S. Vettel - Red Bull Renault RB5 - 666.5
13 . G. Fisichella - Force India Mercedes VJM02 - 668.0 *
14 . S. Buemi - Toro Rosso Ferrari STR4 - 672.5 *
15 . F. Massa - Ferrari F60 - 675.0 *
16 . N. Piquet - Renault R29 - 682.5 *
17 . S. Bourdais - Toro Rosso Ferrari STR4 - 687.5 *
18 . R. Kubica - BMW Sauber F1.09 - 689.5 *
19 . A. Sutil - Force India Mercedes VJM02 - 692.0 *
20 . H. Kovalainen - McLaren Mercedes MP4-24 - 695.0 *

* Declared weight (outside of top ten)

Earl ALEXANDER
© CAPSIS International

 

welcome back silly... you got me worried