Zoom Red Bull should be able to dominate on race day...

Red Bull Renault look set to continue where they left off last time out at the British Grand Prix after Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel qualified first and fourth with significantly more fuel on board for the first stint of the German Grand Prix than rivals Brawn Mercedes.

Assuming that all 20 runners come in at the minimum weight of 605kg for the driver and chassis combined and also assuming that a lap around the Nurburgring burns off 2.4kg of fuel, pole sitter Webber should be able to complete five laps more than fellow front-row starter Rubens Barrichello and seven laps more than championship leader Jenson Button.

Brawn Mercedes have certainly gone very light on fuel to achieve their starting positions for tomorrow’s ninth round of the championship and as a result will be forced to make their first pit stop for fuel as early as lap 14 and 15 when adding in the installation lap to the grid and then the parade lap.

In contrast, pole sitter Webber can run until lap 20 as can team-mate Sebastian Vettel – although the team will probably stagger the stops by a lap - who lines up alongside Button on the second row of the grid.

As ever, those outside of the top ten are generally fuelled heavier than those on the first five rows, but notable exceptions include Giancarlo Fisichella in the Force India who will be pitting on a two stop strategy along with Vettel.

It is also a surprise to see that Adrian Sutil, who qualified a superb seventh in the leading Force India, has a significant fuel load and could if he chooses make it a one stop race as he can run as late as lap 28 of 60.

Red Bull has the fuel on board and as shown in Shanghai, the RB5 package is superb in the wet conditions. It does seem that the Milton Keynes team has the advantage but as we all know, the run to turn one and the opening laps of the Grand Prix can change everything in a blink of an eye.

Nurburgring - Qualifying Weight (kg)
1 . M. Webber - Red Bull Renault RB5 - 661.0
2 . R. Barrichello - Brawn Mercedes BGP 001 - 647.0
3 . J. Button - Brawn Mercedes BGP 001 - 644.0
4 . S. Vettel - Red Bull Renault RB5 - 661.0
5 . L. Hamilton - McLaren Mercedes MP4-24 - 654.5
6 . H. Kovalainen - McLaren Mercedes MP4-24 - 664.0
7 . A. Sutil - Force India Mercedes VJM02 - 678.5
8 . F. Massa - Ferrari F60 - 673.5
9 . K. Raikkonen - Ferrari F60 - 674.0
10 . N. Piquet - Renault R29 - 676.0
11 . N. Heidfeld - BMW Sauber F1.09 - 681.0 *
12 . F. Alonso - Renault R29 - 668.2 *
13 . J. Trulli - Toyota TF109 - 683.7 *
14 . N. Rosberg - Williams Toyota FW31 - 689.6 *
15 . R. Kubica - BMW Sauber F1.09 - 673.5 *
16 . K. Nakajima - Williams Toyota FW31 - 683.6 *
17 . S. Buemi - Toro Rosso Ferrari STR4 - 674.5 *
18 . G. Fisichella - Force India Mercedes VJM02 - 662.5 *
19 . T. Glock - Toyota TF109 - 662.3 *
20 . S. Bourdais - Toro Rosso Ferrari STR4 - 689.5 *
* Declared weight (outside of top ten)

Earl ALEXANDER
© CAPSIS International