Mercedes far superior in gas mileage

Ferrari has suffered a sensible defeat in Abu Dhabi. That was not only due to the layout favorable for Mercedes with two long straights. In the race Sebastian Vettel had to save fuel after 20 laps. The World Championship second drove with a view of the gasoline. The Mercedes drivers put down the 55 laps without restrictions.

Abu Dhabi requires maximum downforce. On paper so Ferrari country. In reality, the Mercedes pilots dominated as before only in Monza. Two long straights helped the silver arrows. Thanks to their power advantage they were able to drive more wings than the competition and thus also benefited in the curvy sector 3. Valtteri Bottas took Sebastian Vettel half a second during practice. In the race it was 19.3 seconds. That was not just something to do with the speed advantage. Vettel could only drive full in the first 20 and the last 10 laps. His fastest race lap at the very end was just 0.120 seconds over the best of Bottas. This shows what would have been possible without restrictions. Certainly no victory, but a less painful residue.

It is not the first time that Mercedes has a massive advantage in gas mileage. The Yas Marina Circuit is not even one of the most critical racetracks. They are Melbourne, Montreal or Baku . Abu Dhabi is in the golden middle. Nevertheless, Vettel heard after just over a third of a race warnings that he was with the fuel consumption in the minus. Kimi Raikkonen knew that from Austin, where he had on the gas in the last round so that he could hardly fend off the attacks of Max Verstappen . Nico Hulkenberg had with his Renaultat the season finale the same problem. "Three laps after I overtook Grosjean, the first radio messages came. From then on, I drove to the end with Lift and Coast. "

Mercedes needs 16 liters less in Mexico
Already at the GP Mexico the partly glaring differences between Mercedes and his opponents could be seen. The Mercedes drivers came with 89 kilograms (120 liters) over the distance. Allowed are 105 kilograms. Ferrari needed 101 kilograms (136 liters) of fuel for the 305 kilometers. The big discrepancy may be partly explained by the fact that Mercedes in Mexico has not filled up the tank. In sum, it was better to save 10 kilograms of gasoline, because that brings three tenths per lap. As the Silver Arrows in Mexico were on the defensive against Ferrari and Red Bull, and the autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez was not a motor circuit, the weight gained more lap time.

But you have to be able to do that first. For Ferrari and Renault offered this was no option at all. In Abu Dhabi according to statements of Mercedes engineers was not easy with the gasoline. There was a engine advantage. On this circuit, it would make little sense to use less fuel to save weight. The pace would be slower then. Even Ferrari and Renault teams filled the tank nearly full. Around the pit stops drivers started to operate Lift and Coast. Gasoline consumption in the current efficiency formula is a good indicator of engine performance . The experience of the last race should be a warning for those who want to challenge Mercedes. If you want to beat the silver arrows, you have to catch up on the engine side.