Renault F1 up to 20% better on fuel consumption than Toyota

[lucky777]

Now that the Car Weights are published, the guys at Pitlane Fanatic have been looking at the fuel consumption figures for the top F1 teams.

Apparently it has been difficult to accurately judge due to the Wet races and Safety Car deployments, but it's becoming increasingly obvious that Toyota are struggling and Renault are looking pretty good.

http://www.pitlanefanatic.com/viewtopic.php?f=38&a...

Judging by those figures it looks like the Toyota could be up to 20% thirstier than the Renault, which I find quite staggering.

Could this be the achilles heel preventing Toyota from claiming their 1st win?
The have a car capable of winning races but if they are constantly heavier on fuel than the rest of the field, surely that is going to disadvantage them?

[Nick M]

That's quite interesting, because it must be quite hard to find ways of getting the same power for less fuel (or rather, ways of wasting fuel to get no more power ! ).

Could there, perhaps, be a bigger benefit from using KERS as a fuel efficiency device rather than an out and out performance boost (even taking the extra weight into account).

Renault are using KERS aren't they ?

[lucky777]

Renault have used KERS most of the season but I'm not sure if they used it in the last race or two .....

[Duke of Rothesay]

20% shorter pitstops + lighter car.
Reanault F1 have been doing this for a few years now.

[lucky777]

Thats true Duke, but both Toyota's pitted earliest in Bahrain and their fuel consumption figures were just terrible. Alonso's car was heavier there and he was still 20% better than Toyota.

[10 Pence Short]

Ferrari are also struggling with fuel consumption relative to some others.

[Derek Smith]

20% less time in the pits? Then I'd suggest examining the filter on the fuel rig.

Their could be a number of causes of high fuel consumption. For instance, aerodynamics: a lot of downforce needs a lot of energy. Further if the engine runs hot then it will need larger radiators, hence more drag. These double diffuser might have something to do with it as well.

The block on development of aerodynamics during the season means that such problems cannot be overcome.

Perhaps this is why Toyota are losing interest in F1.

[BasicAudio]

Could it be that the Renault isn't at the 605kg, so they actually have less fuel at the beggining of the GP?

[lucky777]

10 Pence Short said:

Ferrari are also struggling with fuel consumption relative to some others.

Yes, from the early indications Toyota seem to be the worst, with Ferrari not too far behind them...

[Jungles]

lucky777 said:

Renault have used KERS most of the season but I'm not sure if they used it in the last race or two .....

They only used KERS in Australia and Malaysia. In China, neither car used KERS. In Bahrain, only Piquet used KERS, but not Alonso.