Our final foray into the statistics from the 2008 season actually takes a look at the bigger picture. I’ve charted the numbers for a driver’s entire career, comparing race wins, fastest laps and career points to the number of races he has started. There is always some ambiguity when it comes to certain race start statistics, but I have chosen a way forward and applied it fairly to everyone in the chart. Click here for the full information.
As part of our ongoing series looking at the numbers behind the 2008 Formula 1 season, we’re moving on to retirement statistics. A table, and a couple of pretty pie charts, lead us to some startling conclusions about how the teams performed throughout the year.
The table is available to view here, and I’ve decided not to include it in the blog post itself as it lends itself better to the spreadsheet environment.
The second in our series of 2008 season statistics takes a closer look at how the inter-team battles played out. The raw data can be over-simplified, who outperformed the other in qualifying compared to the race doesn’t always show the truth about what happens each weekend. However, conclusions can be drawn and that’s what we’re about to do.
| Driver | Qualifying | Race | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Massa | 12 | 67% | 12 | 67% | |
| Räikkönen | 6 | 33% | 6 | 33% | |
This seems to imply two things. Wherever the Ferrari qualifies, it generally tends to finish in that position. We know Massa likes to lead from the front, and we know the F2008 isn’t a fan of dirty air, and this adds up. Raikkonen suffered with performance issues in qualifying throughout the season, and it’s fair to say he has been half as good as his teammate. Although not every finish will have been the same, the numbers indicate that some work needs to be done on that Ferrari’s ability to overtake.
| Driver | Qualifying | Race | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton | 14 | 78% | 11 | 61% | |
| Kovalainen | 4 | 22% | 7 | 39% | |
With things beginning to settle down after a manic end to the season, it’s time to start reviewing the year. What better way to kick things off than with some graphs? You know us, any excuse to post a geeky chart or two. This series of posts will look at some of the statistics the year has provided us with, and what conclusions we can draw from them.
The first thing to notice about this graph, is the massive gap between the top three teams, and everyone else. Renault like to think they were the third fastest constructor at the end of the season, and we can see they did make a big leap away from the mid-field, but they made no impact on the wide margin to the big three.
Please don’t forget to update your Fantasy Racers team.
Here we go then, the last chance to change your Fantasy Racers lineup and get maximum points in this season finale race. I honestly considered giving this race some proper thought, and picking my drivers based on what I’ve seen out on track. Then I thought: naaah. I promise, wholeheartedly, that next year I will actually try.
This week, I’ve taken the Brazilian theme and run with it, picking all three drivers for whom it is a home race. I’ve also picked Bourdais, just because, and Sutil because he’s all I could afford with the money I had left.
| Name | Price (£m) |
|---|---|
| Adrian Sutil | 3.90 |
| Felipe Massa | 12.50 |
| Nelsinho Piquet | 6.90 |
| Rubens Barrichello | 6.50 |
| Sébastien Bourdais | 5.10 |
| Total | 34.90 |
That may actually be the closest I’ve ever managed to come to the 35m limit, so I’m secretly quite impressed. I’ve no idea how Sidepodcast Racers will fare this week, but let’s be honest, it’s not going to make much difference.
The cutoff point is 5pm GMT, which will be two thirds of the way through FP2, so don’t wait until the end thinking you can be all clever and change it then. As ever, visit Fantasy Racers and select your team, but more importantly, come back and let us know who you’re running and why.
Please don’t forget to update your Fantasy Racers team.
Last week didn’t work out so well for me, and I partially blamed the fact that the Fantasy Racers site was down for a lot of the final day. However, this time it’s been up for ages, and I’ve still only just managed to select my team for the penultimate race.
If you’re interested in what crazy system I have picked this time round, then I’ll tell you. Any guy that has driven for the team that is currently third in the constructors, BMW. That leaves me with:
| Name | Price (£m) |
|---|---|
| Nick Heidfeld | 8.50 |
| Robert Kubica | 8.10 |
| Sebastian Vettel | 5.20 |
| Timo Glock | 5.80 |
| Total | 27.60 |
I do appear to have a bit of cash left over, which is annoying, because I tried the system with Renault but there were too many drivers and I couldn’t afford to complete the set. Nevertheless, I have a feeling this might be an okay week for Sidepodcast Racers.
As ever, don’t forget to update your team, and let us know who you’re going with and why.
It’s a rollercoaster ride for Formula 1 drivers at the moment, especially for those who are teetering on the brink of expulsion from their teams. We already know Heidfeld is being observed closely, and with the Alonso-to-BMW rumours getting stronger, he’s probably quite worried right now. Bourdais is also under scrutiny, having been told to shine just that little bit more.
Le Seb has hit back, though, and said to his team that there’s no point keeping him if they think he’s going to adapt to a car that he doesn’t like and isn’t working.
Please do not forget to update your Fantasy Racers team.
Last week. I was ridiculed for my choice of just two drivers. The system dictated that I start at the top of the championship and work my way down until I run out of money. With Hamilton and Massa at the top, I was out of cash pretty quickly. However, to all those who laughed at me, it was one of my better points hauls, so there.
This week, with very little time to think about who I’d like in my team, as if I would anyway, I’ve gone for another arbitrary system. This time I’m flipping the same idea I had last week, so now I start from the bottom. You’ll all be pleased to know I could afford more than two drivers, although when you see who they are, perhaps not.
| Driver Price | ||
| Sutil | 3.90 | |
| Coulthard | 6.4 | |
| Fisichella | 5.50 | |
| Button | 6.50 | |
| Nakajima | 6.40 | |
| Bourdais | 5.10 | |
| Total | 33.80 |
I don’t know about anybody else, but I don’t find personal pronouns that difficult. If you’re talking about yourself you say I, if you’re talking to someone, it’s you. If you didn’t learn this from speaking out loud your whole life, then you’ll probably have learnt it practicing some verb tables.
Whilst the action at Valencia kept us all talking about what happened in the pit lane, I was more interested in what those in the pit lane were talking about.
I’ve found something slightly fascinating about the personal pronouns the drivers used over the weekend. For the longest time, we have had to listen to the corporate line from teams and drivers. Sharing in the joy and the pain in equal measures.
Now it seems things are changing, and as the competition hots up, all this “It’s not you, it’s me” business seems to be over. My first example is Raikkonen, who is still bemoaning his lack of pace going into a Grand Prix.
We need to get things sorted in qualifying…
Yes, you do, Kimi. Okay, perhaps this can be excused because it may just be a mechanical problem that means he hasn’t qualified on pole since France. I think perhaps he knows that it is something he needs to sort out himself though. The team certainly believe that Raikkonen has his own issues to sort out.
Please do not forget to update your Fantasy Racers team.
How I do look forward to the Friday of a race weekend, when I get to share my latest scheme for my Fantasy Racers team.
You’ve got until 5 o’clock BST to alter your teams, which gives you a good few hours. You can even wait until after FP2 if you so desire.
Personally, I have no need to watch those drivers pootling round that track, I can make all the decisions I need based on a simple system. This week it is all the drivers whose surname falls between A and C.
Here is my team:
| Driver | Price | |
| David Coulthard | 6.40 | |
| Fernando Alonso | 9.90 | |
| Jenson Button | 6.50 | |
| Rubens Barrichello | 6.50 | |
| Sébastien Bourdais | 5.10 | |
| Total | 34.40 | |
I predict that this will not be a strong weekend for Sidepodcast Racers, but I have faith in the arbitrary system. Anything can happen at a new track.
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