Hey Data Gurus,
I told you, I love to get questions from you guys! So off the back of a great question from one of our members, I’ve put this little analysis together.
Here is a bit of a telemetry breakdown of what was going on during the final stint in the battle between Leclerc and Perez.
I think this is a super cool story that we can use telemetry to really explain a battle, so I wanted to share this with everyone.
If you'd like to see more, be sure to check out www.buymeacoffee.com/brrrake - have a look around the posts section for the free articles, but also consider joining the members to get access to absolutely everything, including detailed breakdowns from every qualifying and race, and even some exclusive video content now and then!
Speaking of exclusive content, I've got a great podcast episode with Liam Lawson talking about his Super Formula season as well as his experience driving the AlphaTauri this season. I'll make that available to members ahead of its podcast and YouTube release next week.
Cheers,
Blake
Summary
TLDR
PER was reasonably strong through all of the corners (better than LEC in many instances in the 1st half of the lap).
But LEC had a substantial straight-line speed advantage from his rear wing level.LEC goofed the braking into T12 on lap 43, and I don't think PER put up much of a defense on L50.
Looking at VER in clean air, being able to control his pace - he was much stronger on the brakes into all of the big stops relative to PER
I can understand that PER engineers aren't trying to feed him 100 lines of information about how to optimize his performance when he's deep in a battle with LEC.
Slightly longer version
[Definitely see below for the “visual” storytelling aids though!]
LEC had a 5 lap tyre disadvantage, and both LEC and PER spent a reasonable amount of time attacking and defending against each other.
During L38-42 when PER was attacking LEC
LEC actually had DRS on VER for several laps into T5 - not a major impact in terms of lap time
No huge differences are apparent between PER and LEC - PER appears to be similar performance, but the fact he is so close to LEC is making up for a reasonable top speed delta as he’s receiving a tow from LEC
In terms of cornering performance around the lap - LEC and PER are well-matched in this phase
PER only gains 0.2s on the DRS down to T14 on LEC
L43 - PER overtakes LEC into T12 as LEC makes a mistake on the brakes
L44-45 - LEC closing back to PER
When PER is in clean air/leading, he has a significant advantage through the corners, especially in the first half of the lap
LEC has a clear straight-line advantage when he has a tow from PER (despite no DRS on these laps)
L46-49 - LEC attacking PER (LEC in DRS)
PER is substantially faster through the first half of the lap through corners, but LEC regains time on all straights
PER also pushes T12 entry too much, which compromises his exit onto the strip
LEC’s DRS advantage on PER is over 0.6s
L50 - LEC overtakes PER final lap
PER’s advantage through first half of the lap is present but smaller
PER also has a much better drive out of T12 to defend to LEC, but LEC straight line and DRS advantage is over 0.7s
Difference between PER and VER?
PER ran a slightly higher downforce configuration, which was ~5kph slower in qualifying
Using L44-45 when PER was in clean air, VER was simply stronger on the brakes into T5,12 and 14 - worth over 0.6s on PER
When 2-3s behind VER, PER’s straight-line speed disadvantage was minimized, as he was receiving a tow from VER despite no DRS
Going from attacking to defending may have been difficult for PER to really dial in his braking points
The Analysis
The above is just a visual representation of car positions and their relative gaps to other cars on track. I’ve broken it down into attacking laps and overtaking laps.
The method below also allows us to visualize the telemetry and car speeds not only on a single lap but on multiple laps from each driver, to understand trends,.
THEN we can average these laps for each driver, and compare the drivers to each other.
Laps 38 to 42 - PER Attacking LEC
LEC Laps
This group of laps LEC is defending to PER
During L38 to L40 - LEC actually has DRS to VER ahead, but this is not a huge factor as the overtake likelihood into T5 isn’t large, and it’s not worth more than 0.1s of lap time relative to PER without DRS
The defending LEC is very consistent, with no huge variations in lap time with the exception of L42 where it looks like he is defending against a move to PER into T1
PER Laps
PER has DRS to LEC this entire group of laps
You can see that PER dives into T1 on L42 attacking LEC, but other than that, no huge variations in lap time
From L41 and L42, Perez is pushing the braking zone into T12 in order to get closer to LEC on the DRS straight
LEC vs PER - Average Laps Compare
The graphic above takes the laps 38-42 for each driver, and averages them together - this allows us to see the trends over a group of laps between drivers
LEC relatively strong through T3/4
LEC is marginally faster S1, but PER on average is gaining time relative to LEC in the DRS into T5 over this group of laps
There are some small differences in energy deployment between the drivers into T7 and T10 - both possibly focusing on saving battery to defend/attack into T14
Note that LEC and PER are very similar car speeds down the back straight UNTIL PER has DRS - then he gains a speed advantage - I’d argue LEC still taking some benefit from VER’s slipstream, despite not having DRS here.
PER only gains 0.2s down the back straight
There are no massive performance differences outright between LEC and PER - very evenly matched with no driver leaving much on the table (at least not relative to each other)
L43 - PER overtakes LEC / LEC Mistake
LEC makes a mistake into T12 and PER easily overtakes
LEC loses 2s and needs to recover this over the following laps
L44-45 - LEC closing back up to PER
LEC’s main advantage here is that he has a huge amount of straight-line speed when he is in PER’s tow, but NOT close enough to be in DRS
PER is substantially faster through the first half of the lap (finding 0.3 to 0.4s through the corners), but PER’s main time losses are in straight line
During this phase, LEC is benefitting from the slipstream of PER, but PER is much less impacted by VER’s more distant slipstream
Note: PER also is running a higher downforce level than VER this weekend, worth a few kph.
Laps 46 to 49 - LEC Attacking PER
Below is L46 to 49, once LEC has closed the gap and regained DRS
LEC laps
Various laps of LEC trying to make time and close up to PER - LEC now in PER DRS
PER Laps
PER with a consistent and strong defense during these laps - not giving up too much time anywhere
LEC vs PER - Averaged Laps Compare
PER still very strong through all of the cornering segments (higher downforce), but the Ferrari top speed is the secret weapon.
The tow on PER plus DRS is worth over 0.6s - and PER seems to be taking too much entry out of T12 on the brakes, and giving up slightly on the exit.
L50 - LEC overtakes PER Final Lap
Final lap of the race - PER still gaining and faster going into T12
PER also gets a much better compromise on the brakes into T12 and has a strong exit
LEC huge DRS advantage over 6 tenths and sails past him into T14
L44-L45 - VER vs PER - Clean Air Compares
Out of curiosity, I had a look at VER vs PER in the clean-air laps on L44-45 (once PER had overtaken LEC)
PER strong through T3/4, but losing out loads of time on the brakes relative to VER in T5, 12 and T14, despite having a higher downforce level
Arguably, VER is able to control his pace and is not racing anyone, whereas PER has just overtaken LEC…
There doesn’t seem to be much advantage for VER in terms of top speed - that being said VER is in relatively clean air, whereas PER is 2-3 seconds behind VER