2) BEST MINISECTORS:

It wasn't just the top speed: 🟠PIA was quicker than 🟢RUS and 🔵VER at the end of all full-throttle sections, indicating low drag.

Yet, RUS could stay full-throttle through T9: his very loaded rear wing gave him excellent downforce!
(PIA and VER lifter.)

For the real F1-nerds among you: the repository containing the 65 analyses I've already made about the race weekend 🤫👇

https://buymeacoffee.com/f1dataanalysis/spanish-gp-analyses-repository-3727910

SPANISH GP - PRACTICE 2 | UPDATE

McLaren used the following, less loaded rear wing in FP2, after testing it alongside a more conventional spec in FP1.

This explains their unusually high top speed (as the car is normally quite draggy), still their downforce looked solid despite that.

SPANISH GP - LONG RUNS (FP2)

🔴 SOFT
1) 🟦VER 1:19.918
2) 🟧NOR 1.20:220
3) 🟥LEC 1:20.287
4) 🟩RUS 1.20:847

🟡 MEDIUM
1) 🟧NOR 1:18.76 ‼️
2) 🟦VER 1.20:088
3) 🟥LEC 1.20:675

My take:
- NOR's pace on mediums was incredible;
- VER was unusually strong in his long runs (RBR has been running a lot of fuel + low engine modes in FP2 most weekends);
- Soft looks viable, but Medium is the better tyre.

What's YOUR prediction? 🤔

SPANISH GP - RACE PACE

🟦 Verstappen was quickest on average but scored only 1 point: his extra stop cost him time and forced a restart on Hards. Contact with RUS was the final nail in the coffin.
RBR used TEN tyre sets in total! 😳

🟧 PIA was the fastest three-stopper; 🟧 NOR just 0.06s/lap slower; 🟥 LEC was further off but quick enough to grab the podium.

🟥 HAM never found the pace, 0.28s/lap slower than his teammate on average. Swapping them was the right call.

🟩 HUL maximised his chances.

McLaren’s supposed drop in pace from the flexi-wing clampdown? Nowhere to be found. 😬

SPANISH GP TOP & MINIMUM SPEEDS

TOP SPEEDS
- OCO reached 345km/h in the race, but TSU was fastest on average: 339km/h 🚀(average of his 15 highest speeds).
- HAM and PIA never used DRS.💡

MIN SPEEDS
- VER, PIA, and NOR had the highest speed in the slowest corner.👌
- Sauber's mechanical grip was lacking, it seems: lowest figures for HUL and BOR.

AVERAGE QUALIFYING GAP AFTER 9 RACES

📈 Evolution (upper graph).
📊 Season average (lower graph).

🟠 McL has been almost flawless in quali this year; their largest gap to pole was just 0.065s😬 (Miami).

Mercedes was quicker than 🔴 Ferrari in all races except for Japan (practically matched) and Monaco.

SPANISH GP - QUALIFYING | 2025 vs 2024

Williams’ performance in the SpanishGP quali was their 2025 worst gap-wise, yet they were the only team to improve their 2024 laptime: that’s how bad last year’s car was!

[Track conditions were worse this year.]

Mercedes, Aston, and McL gained over the other teams. Ferrari lost ~0.15s to them, but RBR was far worse (~0.28s lost to McL)!

What does a tow look like from the telemetry?
Let’s take a look! 👀

Quali laps:
⚫️Reference (no tow)
🟢Tow

1) The tow reduces drag➡️Less power is spent fighting drag, and more of it accelerates the car
2) Car gets off the tow: by then, the lap with tow has the car travelling faster, so its acceleration becomes LOWER (more speed ➡️ More drag and less wheel torque)
3) Both reach terminal speed, but the towed car hits a higher top speed, likely due to saved battery energy being deployed later! ⚡️🔋

As the tow stops, the longitudinal acceleration drops below that of the car without a tow.
However, if the longitudinal acceleration is plotted against the SPEED (red box), not the distance, the acceleration for the car with tow is always higher, as expected! (Always remember to remove confounding variables 😃.)

I hope I showed you something new today! 📚


Made via @JMP_software

CANADIAN GP - PRACTICE 1 ANALYSIS

SECTOR GAPS IN FP1 📊

Albon fastest in S1 and S3, Norris in S2 (but SAI was just 0.003s behind him)!

CANADIAN GP - FP2 DATA SUMMARY

TOP SPEED:

- Red Bull had the lowest drag ➡️Best top speed; opposite for Haas;
- Purple sectors by 3 cars: NOR quickest in S1, ALB in S2, RUS in S3;
- Williams: real pace;
- RUS had a higher engine mode than NOR, who was stronger under braking and had less drag.

Read on!
(1/4)👇

BEST SECTOR GAP:

HAM struggled the most in S3, but Ferrari's performance was underwhelming everywhere.

RUS was quickest in S3 (2 straights, one chicane), where his medium tyre impacted him less. His higher engine mode helped him there, though.

The third sector was Williams' sole weakness.

(2/4)👇

RUS vs NOR Telemetry:

On most straights, RUS gained vs NOR once they could go full-throttle (around 200km/h): this indicates a higher engine mode, or possibly less fuel onboard.

Instead, NOR gained in the last part of the straight: McL seems to have a drag advantage.

(3/4)👇

I'm now going to the beach, but before doing that, I've uploaded all the FP1 and FP2 analyses to my analyses repository, which all those who support the page can access! 👇

Enjoy the race weekend, everyone! 🔥

https://buymeacoffee.com/f1dataanalysis/canadian-gp-analyses-repository-3763140

CANADIAN GP - PRACTICE 2 | LONG RUNS

- Everyone on Mediums:
- 🟢 RUS/ANT did the longest stint (13 laps). RUS had 25 laps-old tyres by the end, yet he was quickest on average!
- 🟢 Mercedes and 🟠 McLaren are looking great.
- 🔵 VER, often on low PU modes/full tank in long runs, looks quick too.
- 🔴 HAM: No quicker than the two 🔵 Williams.

CANADIAN GP - RACE PACE

Now, THAT was a close race! 😳

RUS was quickest on average, but 4 other drivers (VER, ANT, NOR, and PIA) were within 0.1s/lap of his pace! 👌

🔴 Ferrari killed their drivers' race in two ways:
- HAM was put into traffic ❌
- LEC still had excellent pace on the worn Hards, yet was forced to pit❌. They traded a shot at a better outcome to settle for a result they would have gotten anyway had the alternative strategy been worse than expected. Truly unexplainable, in my opinion. Will Ferrari's struggles ever end?

TYRE STRATEGY

Ocon and Sainz did 57 laps on the hards!

CANADIAN GP - QUALI LAP ANALYSIS - TEAMS 📊

🟩 RUS could remain full-throttle way more than anyone else (lifting later, on gas sooner): that's how he got pole! 👌

🟦 VER had the best top speed. He also had the best min speed in T3-T4 (aero efficiency ✅).

🟧 PIA was worst in every metric. He mitigated that by gaining ~0.1s in the last chicane. 👍

🟥 HAM lost much time out of the corners of Sectors 1 and 2. Was the only driver not to lose speed at the end of the lap 🔋(Conservative/sustainable ERS deployment).

Which driver or team surprised you the most in qualifying? 👀

Was Hamilton's Damage worth 0.5s/lap?
💥🦫

Hamilton hit a groundhog in Turn 10 on Lap 12, losing 20 points of downforce (and allegedly 0.5s/lap).

The data confirms this:
- The first stint was chaotic, yet 🔴 HAM was never slower than ⚪️ LEC.
- As he hit it, his laptime increased from 1:16.726 from L11 to 1:17.486 in L14 (+0.760s)❌. Meanwhile, LEC saw no change.
- HAM pitted for new Hards, yet he was still way slower than LEC on 17L hards❌! Could have been a chance, but...
- He pitted again on L45: 17L advantage again, and still slower.

The 0.5s/lap estimate seems correct.

The final proof of the damage?
Downforce impacts fast corners the most (T3-4).

Minimum speed from L11 to L14:
- HAM: 133➡️128 km/h (-5);
- LEC: 134➡️133 km/h (-1).

Ferrari's (and Hamilton's) bad luck knows no end!

CANADIAN GP - ACCELERATION TIMES

Nobody was as quick as Bearman at the start: he reached 200km/h one-tenth sooner than the next quickest drivers (HAD, HUL, HAM)! 🚀

HAM and BOR needed just 2.1s to go from 100km/h to 200km/h: these cars are insane! 🤯

Best starter on Hards (SAI) was 2 tenths slower to 200km/h than the best starter on Mediums (BEA).