While the world may never know how many licks it takes to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop, we can figure out how much fuel a Formula 1 car burns in an average race fairly accurately.

The issue is highly topical and risks becoming a thorny subject: the electric motor in Formula 1’s new power units has almost tripled its power, rising from 120 kW last year to 350 kW, but the battery ...