Discussion of Formula One racing

January 31, 2010

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1. 

   Top Speed Comparisons #14 – Singapore
   =====================================
   

   I posted these comparisons from 2006 to 2008 to illustrate changes in top speeds as
   measured through the speed traps.

   These were the top speeds registered by each driver during the event.

   Team              Driver       Sess  Speed
   ===========================================
   Ferrari           Räikkönen    R     292.1 kph
   F India-Mercedes  Liuzzi       R     290.0
   McLaren-Mercedes  Hamilton     Q1    289.7
   F India-Mercedes  Sutil        P2    288.6
   McLaren-Mercedes  Kovalainen   Q1    288.6
   Red Bull-Renault  Vettel       R     287.7
   Brawn-Mercedes    Barrichello  R     287.1
   Williams-Toyota   Rosberg      R     287.0
   Brawn-Mercedes    Button       R     286.8
   T Rosso-Ferrari   Alguersuari  P3    285.9
   Renault           Alonso       Q2    285.9
   BMW Sauber-BMW    Heidfeld     P3    285.4
   Red Bull-Renault  Webber       R     285.4
   Renault           Grosjean     Q1    285.1
   Williams-Toyota   Nakajima     Q1    285.0
   Ferrari           Fisichella   Q1    284.9
   T Rosso-Ferrari   Buemi        P3    284.7
   BMW Sauber-BMW    Kubica       P2    284.2
   Toyota            Glock        P3    283.4
   Toyota            Trulli       P2    281.5

   The first table (below) compares the 2008 team/driver combination with the equivalent
   2009 team/driver – the same driver if possible, otherwise the 2008 driver is compared
   to his 2009 replacement. This comparison is intended as a team comparison, but the first
   (driver) table is also of some interest – but should be read with care.

   Notes
   =====
   Honda have been renamed Brawn-Mercedes and Force India have switched from Ferrari to
   Mercedes engines.

   ‘S#’ Session in which the top speed was recorded (P1/P2/P3/Q1/Q2/Q3/R)
   ‘Diff’ difference in top speed (km/hr)
   ‘%Dif’ difference in top speed (as percentage of 2008 speed)

   Singapore GP 2008/2009
   ======================

   2008                                    2009
   Team-Engine       Driver       S# km/h  Driver       S# km/h   Dif. %Dif.
   =========================================================================
   [F India-Ferrari] Fisichella   P3 284.5 Liuzzi       R  290.0 +5.5  +1.93
   Ferrari           Räikkönen    P1 286.7 Räikkönen    R  292.1 +5.4  +1.88
   [F India-Ferrari] Sutil        P3 284.4 Sutil        P2 288.6 +4.2  +1.48
   [Honda]           Barrichello  Q1 284.0 Barrichello  R  287.1 +3.1  +1.09
   [Honda]           Button       P3 285.4 Button       R  286.8 +1.4  +0.49

   Williams-Toyota   Rosberg      Q1 287.2 Rosberg      R  287.0 -0.2  -0.07
   Toyota            Trulli       Q2 281.7 Trulli       P2 281.5 -0.2  -0.07
   Red Bull-Renault  Coulthard    Q2 288.1 Vettel       R  287.7 -0.4  -0.14
   McLaren-Mercedes  Hamilton     Q2 291.1 Hamilton     Q1 289.7 -1.4  -0.48
   McLaren-Mercedes  Kovalainen   Q2 290.0 Kovalainen   Q1 288.6 -1.4  -0.48
   Toyota            Glock        P3 284.9 Glock        P3 283.4 -1.5  -0.53
   BMW Sauber-BMW    Heidfeld     Q1 287.1 Heidfeld     P3 285.4 -1.7  -0.59
   Red Bull-Renault  Webber       Q2 287.1 Webber       R  285.4 -1.7  -0.59
   Ferrari           Massa        Q1 287.5 Fisichella   Q1 284.9 -2.6  -0.90
   Williams-Toyota   Nakajima     P1 287.9 Nakajima     Q1 285.0 -2.9  -1.01
   T Rosso-Ferrari   Bourdais     Q1 289.1 Alguersuari  P3 285.9 -3.2  -1.11
   Renault           Alonso       Q1 289.8 Alonso       Q2 285.9 -3.9  -1.35
   BMW Sauber-BMW    Kubica       Q1 288.1 Kubica       P2 284.2 -3.9  -1.35
   T Rosso-Ferrari   Vettel       P3 290.5 Buemi        P3 284.7 -5.8  -2.00
   Renault           Piquet       P3 291.8 Grosjean     Q1 285.1 -6.7  -2.30

   Only five drivers were able to improve on the 2008 speeds. Räikkönen is unusual as
   one of those, Ferrari have not tended to improve much this year.

   The second table compares the top speed achieved by each team (IE the top
   speed of both drivers), and as such is a better comparison.

   2008                                    2009
   Team-Engine       Driver      S# km/h   Driver      S# km/h  Diff. %Diff.
   =========================================================================
   [F India-Ferrari] Fisichella   P3 284.5 Liuzzi       R  290.0 +5.5  +1.93
   Ferrari           Massa        Q1 287.5 Räikkönen    R  292.1 +4.6  +1.60
   [Honda]           Button       P3 285.4 Barrichello  R  287.1 +1.7  +0.60

   Red Bull-Renault  Coulthard    Q2 288.1 Vettel       R  287.7 -0.4  -0.14
   Williams-Toyota   Nakajima     P1 287.9 Rosberg      R  287.0 -0.9  -0.31
   McLaren-Mercedes  Hamilton     Q2 291.1 Hamilton     Q1 289.7 -1.4  -0.48
   Toyota            Glock        P3 284.9 Glock        P3 283.4 -1.5  -0.53
   BMW Sauber-BMW    Kubica       Q1 288.1 Heidfeld     P3 285.4 -2.7  -0.94
   T Rosso-Ferrari   Vettel       P3 290.5 Alguersuari  P3 285.9 -4.6  -1.58
   Renault           Piquet       P3 291.8 Alonso       Q2 285.9 -5.9  -2.02

   Only Force India, Ferrari & Brawn were able to improve.

   Taking the positions from table 2 at each race (1 is most improved, 10 is
   least improved) and averaging them gives a season average position.

       Team             R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 10 11 12 13 14  Tot  Avg.
   =========================================================================
    1. F India-Mercedes  3  2  3  1  1  1  1  1  -  3  2  8  2  1   29  2.23
    2. Brawn-Mercedes    2  6  5  4  2  3  5  3  -  2  1  2  1  3   39  3.00
    3. Red Bull-Renault  5  1  2  7  5  4  4  5  -  4  9  6  4  4   60  4.62
    4. Toyota           10  4  6  2  7  8  9  2  -  9  6  3  5  7   78  6.00
    5. Ferrari           8  9  1 10 10  2 10  8  -  6  5  1  9  2   81  6.23
    6. Renault           7  3  7  9  3 10  2  7  -  7  7  4  6 10   82  6.31
    7. Williams-Toyota   6  8  8  8  6  6  6  4  - 10  4  5  7  5   83  6.38
    8. T Rosso-Ferrari   4  7  4  5  9  9  3  9  -  8  8  9  3  9   87  6.69
       BMW Sauber-BMW    1  5  9  6  8  7  7  6  -  5 10  7  8  8   87  6.69
   10. McLaren-Mercedes  9 10 10  3  4  5  8 10  -  1  3 10 10  6   89  6.85

   All data from http://www.fia.com or http://www.formula1.com.

   –

   Brian W Lawrence
   Wantage,
   Oxfordshire, UK
   Brian_W_Lawre…@msn.com

   Comment by admin — January 31, 2010 @ 7:20 am

2. 

   Top Speed Comparisons #15 – Suzuka
   ==================================
   

   I posted these comparisons from 2006 to 2008 to illustrate changes in top speeds as
   measured through the speed traps.

   These were the top speeds registered by each driver during the event.

   Team              Driver       Sess  Speed
   ===========================================
   McLaren-Mercedes  Kovalainen   R     316.4 kph
   Brawn-Mercedes    Button       R     312.8
   F India-Mercedes  Sutil        R     311.5
   McLaren-Mercedes  Hamilton     Q1    311.0
   Renault           Grosjean     R     311.0
   Red Bull-Renault  Webber       R     310.2
   F India-Mercedes  Liuzzi       R     310.1
   T Rosso-Ferrari   Buemi        P1    309.7
   Renault           Alonso       R     309.3
   T Rosso-Ferrari   Alguersuari  P1    308.5
   Toyota            Trulli       P1    308.1
   Brawn-Mercedes    Barrichello  R     307.9
   Red Bull-Renault  Vettel       P1    307.6
   Toyota            Glock        Q1    307.1
   BMW Sauber-BMW    Kubica       R     306.2
   Ferrari           Räikkönen    P1    305.8
   Ferrari           Fisichella   R     305.0
   Williams-Toyota   Nakajima     R     304.9
   Williams-Toyota   Rosberg      P1    303.6
   BMW Sauber-BMW    Heidfeld     P1    300.5
   Toyota            Kobayashi    P1    277.4

   Note: Timo Glock was ill on Friday and was replaced by Kamui Kobayashi for the P1 & P2
   sessions. Glock returned for P3 and qualifying, but crashed in Q2 and took no further
   part in the event (or in fact the season).

   Since the 2008 Japanese GP took place at Fuji direct comparisons are not relevant.

   All data from http://www.fia.com or http://www.formula1.com.

   –

   Brian W Lawrence
   Wantage,
   Oxfordshire, UK
   Brian_W_Lawre…@msn.com

   Comment by admin — January 31, 2010 @ 7:20 am

3. 

   Top Speed Comparisons #16 – Interlagos
   ======================================
   

   I posted these comparisons from 2006 to 2008 to illustrate changes in top speeds as
   measured through the speed traps.

   These were the top speeds registered by each driver during the event.

   Team              Driver       Sess  Speed
   ==========================================
   BMW Sauber-BMW    Kubica       R     315.0 kph
   BMW Sauber-BMW    Heidfeld     R     312.4
   Ferrari           Räikkönen    P1    311.0
   Brawn-Mercedes    Button       R     310.4
   McLaren-Mercedes  Hamilton     R     310.4
   F India-Mercedes  Sutil        P1    310.0
   Red Bull-Renault  Webber       R     309.9
   Red Bull-Renault  Vettel       R     309.7
   McLaren-Mercedes  Kovalainen   P1    309.7
   Ferrari           Fisichella   P1    309.1
   F India-Mercedes  Liuzzi       P1    308.0
   Renault           Grosjean     R     307.9
   Renault           Alonso       P2    307.8
   Brawn-Mercedes    Barrichello  R     307.3
   T Rosso-Ferrari   Buemi        R     306.7
   T Rosso-Ferrari   Alguersuari  R     306.6
   Toyota            Kobayashi    P1    305.4
   Williams-Toyota   Nakajima     R     304.1
   Williams-Toyota   Rosberg      R     304.0
   Toyota            Trulli       P1    303.3

   The first table (below) compares the 2008 team/driver combination with the equivalent
   2009 team/driver – the same driver if possible, otherwise the 2008 driver is compared
   to his 2009 replacement. This comparison is intended as a team comparison, but the first
   (driver) table is also of some interest – but should be read with care.

   Notes
   =====
   Honda have been renamed Brawn-Mercedes and Force India have switched from Ferrari to
   Mercedes engines.

   ‘S#’ Session in which the top speed was recorded (P1/P2/P3/Q1/Q2/Q3/R)
   ‘Diff’ difference in top speed (km/hr)
   ‘%Dif’ difference in top speed (as percentage of 2008 speed)

   Brazilian GP 2008/2009
   ======================

   2008                                    2009
   Team-Engine       Driver       S# km/h  Driver       S# km/h   Dif. %Dif.
   =========================================================================
   BMW Sauber-BMW    Kubica       P1 307.1 Kubica       R  315.0 +7.9  +2.57
   [Honda]           Button       P2 306.4 Button       R  310.4 +4.0  +1.31
   BMW Sauber-BMW    Heidfeld     R  310.1 Heidfeld     R  312.4 +2.3  +0.74
   [Honda]           Barrichello  R  305.6 Barrichello  R  307.3 +1.7  +0.56
   Renault           Alonso       P2 306.2 Alonso       P2 307.8 +1.6  +0.52
   [F India-Ferrari] Sutil        P1 308.9 Sutil        P1 310.0 +1.1  +0.36
   Renault           Piquet       P1 306.9 Grosjean     R  307.9 +1.0  +0.33
   Ferrari           Räikkönen    R  310.8 Räikkönen    P1 311.0 +0.2  +0.06
   [F India-Ferrari] Fisichella   P1 308.0 Liuzzi       P1 308.0 +0.0  +0.00

   Red Bull-Renault  Webber       R  310.0 Webber       R  309.9 -0.1  -0.03
   Red Bull-Renault  Coulthard    P1 310.7 Vettel       R  309.7 -1.0  -0.32
   Toyota            Glock        R  307.6 Kobayashi    P1 305.4 -2.2  -0.72
   Ferrari           Massa        R  311.7 Fisichella   P1 309.1 -2.6  -0.83
   Toyota            Trulli       R  307.5 Trulli       P1 303.3 -4.2  -1.37
   Williams-Toyota   Rosberg      R  308.3 Rosberg      R  304.0 -4.3  -1.39
   McLaren-Mercedes  Hamilton     R  315.7 Hamilton     R  310.4 -5.3  -1.68
   McLaren-Mercedes  Kovalainen   R  315.0 Kovalainen   P1 309.7 -5.3  -1.68
   T Rosso-Ferrari   Vettel       R  313.5 Buemi        R  306.7 -6.8  -2.17
   Williams-Toyota   Nakajima     R  310.9 Nakajima     R  304.1 -6.8  -2.19
   T Rosso-Ferrari   Bourdais     R  313.5 Alguersuari  R  306.6 -6.9  -2.20

   Nine drivers managed better top speeds than in 2008 while 11 did not.

   The second table compares the top speed achieved by each team (IE the top
   speed of both drivers), and as such is a better comparison.

   2008                                    2009
   Team-Engine       Driver      S# km/h   Driver      S# km/h  Diff. %Diff.
   =========================================================================
   BMW Sauber-BMW    Heidfeld     R  310.1 Kubica       R  315.0 +4.9  +1.58
   [Honda]           Button       P2 306.4 Button       R  310.4 +4.0  +1.31
   [F India-Ferrari] Sutil        P1 308.9 Sutil        P1 310.0 +1.1  +0.36
   Renault           Piquet       P1 306.9 Grosjean     R  307.9 +1.0  +0.33

   Ferrari           Massa        R  311.7 Räikkönen    P1 311.0 -0.7  -0.22
   Red Bull-Renault  Coulthard    P1 310.7 Webber       R  309.9 -0.8  -0.26
   Toyota            Glock        R  307.6 Kobayashi    P1 305.4 -2.2  -0.72
   McLaren-Mercedes  Hamilton     R  315.7 Hamilton     R  310.4 -5.3  -1.68
   T Rosso-Ferrari   Vettel       R  313.5 Buemi        R  306.7 -6.8  -2.17
   Williams-Toyota   Nakajima     R  310.9 Nakajima     R  304.1 -6.8  -2.19

   Only BMW Sauber, Brawn, Force India & Renault were able to improve.

   Taking the positions from table 2 at each race (1 is most improved, 10 is
   least improved) and averaging them gives a season average position.

       Team             R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16  Tot  Avg.
   ===============================================================================
    1. F India-Mercedes  3  2  3  1  1  1  1  1  -  3  2  8  2  1  -  3   32  2.29
    2. Brawn-Mercedes    2  6  5  4  2  3  5  3  -  2  1  2  1  3  -  2   41  2.93
    3. Red Bull-Renault  5  1  2  7  5  4  4  5  -  4  9  6  4  4  -  6   66  4.71
    4. Toyota           10  4  6  2  7  8  9  2  -  9  6  3  5  7  -  7   85  6.07
    5. Ferrari           8  9  1 10 10  2 10  8  -  6  5  1  9  2  -  5   86  6.14
       Renault           7  3  7  9  3 10  2  7  -  7  7  4  6 10  -  4   86  6.14
    7. BMW Sauber-BMW    1  5  9  6  8  7  7  6  -  5 10  7  8  8  -  1   88  6.29
    8. Williams-Toyota   6  8  8  8  6  6  6  4  - 10  4  5  7  5  - 10   93  6.64
    9. T Rosso-Ferrari   4  7  4  5  9  9  3  9  -  8  8  9  3  9  -  9   96  6.86
   10. McLaren-Mercedes  9 10 10  3  4  5  8 10  -  1  3 10 10  6  -  8   97  6.93

   All data from http://www.fia.com or http://www.formula1.com.

   –

   Brian W Lawrence
   Wantage,
   Oxfordshire, UK
   Brian_W_Lawre…@msn.com

   Comment by admin — January 31, 2010 @ 7:20 am

4. 

   Top Speed Comparisons #17 – Yas Marina
   ======================================
   

   I posted these comparisons from 2006 to 2008 to illustrate changes in top speeds as
   measured through the speed traps.

   These were the top speeds registered by each driver during the event.

   Team              Driver     Sess Speed
   =======================================
   McLaren-Mercedes  Kovalainen   R  322.0 kph
   F India-Mercedes  Liuzzi       R  320.6
   F India-Mercedes  Sutil        R  320.6
   Brawn-Mercedes    Barrichello  R  320.0
   Brawn-Mercedes    Button       R  319.7
   Ferrari           Fisichella   R  317.7
   McLaren-Mercedes  Hamilton     P3 316.4
   Toyota            Trulli       R  315.4
   Red Bull-Renault  Webber       R  314.3
   Red Bull-Renault  Vettel       R  314.2
   Williams-Toyota   Nakajima     R  314.0
   Ferrari           Räikkönen    R  313.9
   Williams-Toyota   Rosberg      R  313.9
   Toyota            Kobayashi    R  313.6
   BMW Sauber-BMW    Heidfeld     R  313.0
   Renault           Alonso       R  312.7
   T Rosso-Ferrari   Buemi        R  312.6
   T Rosso-Ferrari   Alguersuari  R  312.6
   BMW Sauber-BMW    Kubica       R  312.6
   Renault           Grosjean     R  312.5

   Note: Every driver (except Hamilton) achieved their top speed during the race. Perhaps
   not unexpected at a new venue (Lewis didn’t last very long in the race).

   Since this event had not been held before there is no 2008 data for comparison.

   All data from http://www.fia.com or http://www.formula1.com.

   –

   Brian W Lawrence
   Wantage,
   Oxfordshire, UK
   Brian_W_Lawre…@msn.com

   Comment by admin — January 31, 2010 @ 7:20 am

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