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

LONG RUNS - Austrian GP is looking spicy 🔥

🔴SOFT:
1) HAM
2) VER +0.145s

🟡MEDIUM:
1) NOR
2) ANT +0.144s
3) LEC +0.201s

⚪️HARD:
1) PIA
2) SAI +0.340s
3) ALB +0.498s

Longest stints: ANT (14 push laps), TSU (13);
ALB's tyres had 26 laps by the end of the stint!

McL is the clear favorite.
Ferrari is not looking bad.
ANT did a streak of 8 extremely fast laps! (his pace dropped afterwards) .

My VERY extensive ‘Quali and race preview’ article (2500+ words, over 19 images/analyses from FP2) 👇

https://buymeacoffee.com/f1dataanalysis/austrian-gp-quali-race-preview-3800589

AUSTRIAN GP - RACE PACE

McL dominated the race, finishing almost 20s in front of the next best car (Ferrari/LEC) and lapping everyone but the top 7!

Both Saubers within 1-2 tenths of RUS.

LAW and ALO had an excellent pace despite the one-stopper: brilliant race.

PACE
1) 🟧 NOR quickest
2) 🟧 PIA +0.03s/lap
3) 🟥 LEC +0.27
4) 🟥 HAM +0.43
5) 🟩 RUS +0.91

Who surprised you the most? 🤔👀

McLaren is dominating this season: they have scored 417 points in 11 races, just 2 less than their two main rivals COMBINED! 🚀

(419: 210 Ferrari + 209 Mercedes)

AUSTRIAN GP

UPPER IMAGE: Gap to Leader
(only non-lapped drivers shown)

Yes, just 5 other drivers were not lapped by NOR!


LOWER IMAGE: Tyre Wear
(fuel-corrected laptimes per team and tyre compound)

Ferrari and RUS were closer to McL on Mediums than on Hards.

Russell’s pace on Hards was terrible!

BRITISH GP - WING THURSDAY!

McLaren is still unsure about the best wing to run at Silverstone 💡

A MORE loaded wing (left) provides:
✅✅ Much better braking (grip + stability);
✅ Improved cornering and traction;
❌ Higher drag (main drawback).

🛞 Will it result in better tyre deg? Yes... maybe
- The tyres will spin/slide less ➡️Smaller temperature spikes ➡️ Lower thermal deg.
- Tyres will be subject to higher vertical forces, AND also longitudinal/lateral forces if the driver exploits the additional grip ➡️ Larger MECHANICAL stress.

The AVERAGE temperature can get higher, increasing the mechanical wear (tyre gets softer) and the thermal wear too.

In Silverstone, a more loaded wing normally improves tyre deg. There are exceptions, though: LEC got P3 in 2020 on the terrible SF1000 also thanks to the lower tyre stress induced by his less loaded rear wing!

If you liked this topic I will make a more detailed discussion and analysis on it in the future!

Photos by: @albertfabrega

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👇