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Fuel Consumption 'Advantage' For Mercedes in Australia

Fuel Consumption 'Advantage' For Mercedes in Australia

22-03-2018 15:01
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Nicolás Quarles van Ufford

Ferrari and Red Bull will do their best to knock Mercedes off as the champions, but the Germans remain the favourites heading into the Australian Grand Prix, with their supreme long-run pace and superior fuel consumption.

Red Bull's problem with consumption is that the engine is slower in a straight line, which means the engine will be revving at the maximum more time than Mercedes, which costs more fuel. Albert Park is a circuit where the drivers will have their gas-pedal all the way down for 70 percent of every lap, which gives Mercedes a considerable fuel advantage. The Ferrari engine is just less fuel-efficient than the German power unit.

"That's why Albert Park is very favourable for Mercedes," Red Bull boss Christian Horner told Auto Motor und Bild. 

"Our consumption is automatically higher," Max Verstappen added, "because we're slower on the straights, which means we go full throttle longer."

"Ferrari, Mercedes and us will be the ones competing at the highest level," his more optimistic teammate Daniel Ricciardo said.

"I hope we can cause some surprises, we have the ability to finish on the podium."

From Mercedes' point of view, Red Bull is seen as the main threat.

"People will be amazed by how good the Red Bull actually is," Lewis Hamilton said.

"The pre-season testing gave a wrong image, the conditions were weird and the amount of fuel everyone was driving with varied."

"We shouldn't look at that as a benchmark, Red Bull will really be competing for the title this season."