Red Bull’s RB20 have been the strongest car over a single lap up to now in 2024, followed by Ferrari and McLaren, the two outfits that have already gained races in the present season. F1Technical’s lead journalist Balazs Szabó analyses groups’ qualifying efficiency in the opening phases of the season.
Since the introduction of the new ground-effect car in 2022, Red Bull have been the dominant drive in Formula One. The Milton Keynes-based outfit used to show dominant tempo in race trim in the earlier two years, however they barely struggled for qualifying tempo with Ferrari having displayed spectacular one-lap tempo in low-fuel configuration.
For the present season, the image has barely modified as Red Bull have misplaced its totally dominant type in race tempo, however they have been unbeatable in qualifying at the begin of the season.
However, Ferrari managed to up their recreation in Monaco which noticed Charles Leclerc safe his first pole place of the season earlier than George Russell took his and his group’s first pole place in Montreal.
These outcomes represented a major change after the opening seven qualifying classes that had been all dominated by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Interestingly, all qualifying session took half in dry circumstances, even when rain threatened the Saturday’s most essential session in Montreal.
It is not any shock to see Red Bull on prime of the subject when it got here to the qualifying efficiency up to now this season. As proven on the diagram supplied by Formula Data Analysis, the Milton Keynes-based outfit has been solely 0.09 per cent off the pole place time which isn’t shocking on condition that Verstappen took seven of the 9 pole place and he was tied with George Russell in the qualifying session in Montreal.
It signifies that he was solely slower than the pole place time in Monaco the place he completed solely sixth, three tenths of a second adrift of Charles Leclerc’s pole place time.
Ferrari and McLaren have been tied all via the season in phrases of efficiency. Both groups’ have been 0.41 per cent off the pole place time in common. Curiously, there are key variations between the two groups although.
McLaren’s greatest effort noticed them set a qualifying time that was solely 0.1 per cent of the pole time (Canada) whereas they had been 0.7 per cent off the greatest time after they displayed their worst qualifying efficiency.
By distinction, Ferrari had been nearer to the pole place time on a extra common bases than McLaren, however they had been a approach off the benchmark in China which was defined with the chilly circumstances. Ferrari’s boxplot-like diagram was widened by their dismal efficiency in Montreal which noticed the Scuderia battle for one-lap tempo.
Mercedes has been constantly between 0.5 and 1.0 per cent off the pole time, however their pole place in Montreal has considerably widened the ‘boxplot’.
Aston Martin discover themselves in a no man’s land this yr. Their qualifying efficiency has been corresponding to that of Mercedes, however their dismal displaying in Imola and Monaco widened their ‘boxplot’ in the destructive path.
The prime 5 groups are followed by RB, Haas, Williams, Alpine and Kick Sauber in this order.
RB has been the most constant outfit up to now whereas the ‘boxplot’ of Haas has been closely influenced by Nico Hulkenberg’s eye-catching efficiency in Miami and the similar could be mentioned of Williams’ statistics which has been considerably modified by Alexander Albon’s robust displaying from Monaco and Montreal.
Alpine’s efficiency has established fairly a large ‘boxplot’. Their begin to the season was extraordinarily powerful which followed by performances that had been corresponding to these of their direct rivals, Williams, RB, Sauber and Haas. With Gasly qualifying in the prime ten in Monaco, the ‘boxplot’ was additional widened.
Speaking of the present pecking order, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton mentioned: “I feel everybody’s clearly taken a step hopefully nearer to the Red Bulls, and I feel that is been actually optimistic. But extremely pleased with everybody again at the manufacturing unit, simply how laborious everybody’s working and how resilient everyone seems to be.
“Everyone’s simply staying very centered, head down. The morale’s actually nice in the group, so I’m hoping that we will get nearer to those guys and begin really competing at the entrance with these.
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