Finishing position Vs Qualifying position: who gains most?
Discussion
I have been studying the difference between drivers starting positions and their finishing positions. I.e., who gains over a race and who drops positions.
Biggest gains, i.e, who makes the most moves up the grid after the race start:
Yuki Tsunoda has made up an average of three places in each GP this season. Taking his DNF into account, that rises to 3.6 places gained per GP. So even if he's inconsistent, he's certainly one to watch in the race.
Kimi Raikkonen the wily old dog is next. Taking his Portugal DNF out of the equation, he has gained 3 places per GP. With that DNF, it's still a solid two place gain.
Vettel and Norris each gain an average 2.29 places per race. But whereas Vettel did most of that work in Azerbaijan where he gained a massive 9 places, Norris has consistently gained at least one place in each race this year. Well done Lando.
Looking at the other end of the scale,
Leclerc is the big loser this year. Even taking his DNFs out of the mix, he has still dropped an average of 2.66 places per race. With DNFs that rises to a massive 5.14 places dropped per race. He's been unlucky sure, but the Sunday pace of the Ferrari shows there's a lot of work to be done in Maranello.
Bottas is the biggest conundrum; If he finishes, he's likely to pick up a single place, but taking his rotten luck with DNFs into account, he has dropped an average of 2,86 positions in each race. He is certainly the most inconsistent driver on this statistic.
A few anomalies spring up at either ends of the grid. Max and Lewis are 15th and 16th respectively with both drivers losing around 2 places per race. However, they both had a shocker in Azerbaijan with Max losing 15 places and Lewis 14 places, but still being classified as finishers. And also if you start at the front, well, there's really only one way to go.
Similarly, being known as Mr Saturday can have it's disadvantages. As well as Russell does dragging the Williams around on a single lap, once Sunday comes his natural skill cannot mask the cars true pace and he inevitably slides back a place or two.
While not being a true indicator of the year, it's an interesting look and might help with some fantasy F1 picks!
Biggest gains, i.e, who makes the most moves up the grid after the race start:
Yuki Tsunoda has made up an average of three places in each GP this season. Taking his DNF into account, that rises to 3.6 places gained per GP. So even if he's inconsistent, he's certainly one to watch in the race.
Kimi Raikkonen the wily old dog is next. Taking his Portugal DNF out of the equation, he has gained 3 places per GP. With that DNF, it's still a solid two place gain.
Vettel and Norris each gain an average 2.29 places per race. But whereas Vettel did most of that work in Azerbaijan where he gained a massive 9 places, Norris has consistently gained at least one place in each race this year. Well done Lando.
Looking at the other end of the scale,
Leclerc is the big loser this year. Even taking his DNFs out of the mix, he has still dropped an average of 2.66 places per race. With DNFs that rises to a massive 5.14 places dropped per race. He's been unlucky sure, but the Sunday pace of the Ferrari shows there's a lot of work to be done in Maranello.
Bottas is the biggest conundrum; If he finishes, he's likely to pick up a single place, but taking his rotten luck with DNFs into account, he has dropped an average of 2,86 positions in each race. He is certainly the most inconsistent driver on this statistic.
A few anomalies spring up at either ends of the grid. Max and Lewis are 15th and 16th respectively with both drivers losing around 2 places per race. However, they both had a shocker in Azerbaijan with Max losing 15 places and Lewis 14 places, but still being classified as finishers. And also if you start at the front, well, there's really only one way to go.
Similarly, being known as Mr Saturday can have it's disadvantages. As well as Russell does dragging the Williams around on a single lap, once Sunday comes his natural skill cannot mask the cars true pace and he inevitably slides back a place or two.
While not being a true indicator of the year, it's an interesting look and might help with some fantasy F1 picks!
This has been done before, probably about a year or two ago. I seem to recall Haas drivers did very well, while Bottas and Verstappen didn't do all that well and Lewis was average.
Basically, if you qualify first, you can't do anything but break even. If you qualify last, you can't score a negative result and only need one driver to DNF to improve your position in the race. It shows opportunity more than anything else. Last place has 19 opportunities to increase their score and no opportunities to score negative. Pole position has no opportunity to improve but can lose a whole stack of positions.
Basically, if you qualify first, you can't do anything but break even. If you qualify last, you can't score a negative result and only need one driver to DNF to improve your position in the race. It shows opportunity more than anything else. Last place has 19 opportunities to increase their score and no opportunities to score negative. Pole position has no opportunity to improve but can lose a whole stack of positions.
Gassing Station | Formula 1 | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff