Formula 1 agreed last week to raise the fuel allowance from 2019, meaning each car will be allowed to start the race with 110kg of fuel, a 5kg increase on the current allowance.
Although it might seem like a small change, it is believed 5kg is roughly the amount drivers are forced to save through 'lift and coast' or reduced engine power modes during the race, therefore the increase should allow them to push from start to finish.
Speaking in Azerbaijan, Nico Hulkenberg said it was a move "in the right direction", but warned other factors played a role in drivers not pushing flat-out for the entire race, such as tyres and reliability.
"It will definitely help the fuel saving situation and not really having to worry about that too much, on that front, definitely allows you to push to the limit," he said.
"Obviously it’s not always just about fuel sometimes, it’s linked in with what the tyres are doing, how they behave. Weekend for weekend that’s quite different. There might be some of that left still but for sure it’s a positive thing I think and [moving] in the right direction."
Haas' Kevin Magnussen concurred, added: "I think it’s good that it’s been raised. There are some races during the year that can be really really tricky like Russia for example, it can be almost ridiculous there. So it’s nice to see that going up so you can push a bit more.
"I don’t mind a little bit of fuel saving… sometimes even before you had these limitations, like five years ago they were doing some management because they would start the race with an anticipation of safety cars or whatever. A little bit is fine but sometimes it’s too much. I think it’s a good change."
