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).

Acceleration times per compound 👇

So... I did something😬

I'm teaming up with JMP to organise an F1-themed data analysis summer challenge!🤩

You'll analyse the data from an F1 race: laptimes, compounds, pit stops, speed traps, you name it!🏎

Same data for everyone: may the best among you win!
Info in comment👇

1) SIGN UP
2) DOWNLOAD a JMP free trial and the dataset
3) CREATE your analysis in JMP, and submit it

I will be on the jury alongside other experts. The winners will present their findings in a webinar and will also receive a LEGO F1 car! 🧱

Click here:
https://www.jmp.com/en/offers/summer-challenge/motorsport?utm_source=fdanalysis&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=701Ki000000EZJgIAO

See you at the challenge!

AUSTRIA PREVIEW

C3-C5 compounds (as last year);
Optimal strategy was 2 stops (Starting on Mediums, alternating Mediums and Hards).

KEY FEATURES:
- 700m altitude (~7% lower air density ➡️Less drag and downforce).
- Fewest corners (10), shortest laptime (1'02"939 pole in 2020).
- Requires balance: traction, braking, medium and high-speed cornering, power and drag are all important.

RACE PACE 2024
VER and NOR were very close in performance; RUS capitalised on their crash to win! PIA didn't have the updated car. RBR and McL were quickest, Mercedes and Ferrari not far off them.

📸 @pirellisport

AUSTRIAN GP - REAR WINGS

- Track layout requires medium-low downforce (many straights; medium-high speed corners present but not prevalent).

- Lower air density (~7%), however, forces teams to claw back some of the lost downforce.


Load levels (Highest to lowest):
Aston / Alpine⏫
McL
Haas / Ferrari
Mercedes / RBR
Racing Bulls⏬


📸 @AlbertFabrega