Unusual F1 Stats

[Ataxia]

The biggest violation of the 107% rule was set by Takuma Sato in qualifying for the 2002 Australian Grand Prix, having set a time at 132% of the pole time set by Rubens Barrichello.

[Jocke1]

So now I wonder, what is the smallest violation?

[Ataxia]

So now I wonder, what is the smallest violation?

Damon Hill at the '99 French Grand Prix, according to Wikipedia (and not including excluded times). He was 107.002% off of the pole time set by...yep, Barrichello.

You like patterns, Jocke, so here's some. Both the smallest and largest violations were set in Jordans, and Barrichello was on pole for both...

[Backmarker]

So now I wonder, what is the smallest violation?

107.002% by Damon Hill at the 1999 French Grand Prix. Hill was still allowed to race by the stewards. The smallest ever violation that was not subsequently permitted to race was 107.082% by Ricardo Rosset at the 1998 Spanish Grand Prix. Also, given that Takuma Sato was allowed to race despite being so far outside the 107% time, Ricardo Rosset also holds the record for the largest violation that was not subsequently permitted to race, with his famous Lola effort at the 1997 Australian Grand Prix being 114.230%.

[FA1L]

Has any driver been the champion with missing one or more of the races (not counting the Indianapolis 500)? Just wondering.

[UncreativeUsername37]

Has any driver been the champion with missing one or more of the races (not counting the Indianapolis 500)? Just wondering.

Jochen Rindt

[madmark1974]

Has any driver been the champion with missing one or more of the races (not counting the Indianapolis 500)? Just wondering.

Alain Prost withdrew from the Australian GP in 1989, though he was already Champion before the race started.

From the 'pedia :

Before the race had started Prost stated his intention to honor his contract and start the race, but that he would pit after one lap and retire from the race.
Prost, who it was well known did not like racing a Grand Prix car in wet conditions for reasons of safety, remained true to his word and did not contest the restart, despite the best efforts of team boss Ron Dennis to persuade him to do otherwise.

[Jocke1]

Schumacher '94.

[tommykl]

Then I believe we can count Alberto Ascari, who didn't enter the 1952 Swiss Grand Prix. Granted, he was doing the Indy 500, but I think it should be counted anyway

[FA1L]

Has any driver been the champion with missing one or more of the races (not counting the Indianapolis 500)? Just wondering.

Jochen Rindt

Darn, how did I forget

[Backmarker]

Formula One Drivers By Number of Circuits Won At

So, I figured that one of the great tests of a driver's skill is to be able to win on many different types of circuit. Therefore, there is value in looking at how many tracks a driver won at. In my methodology, I did not consider changes to a circuit's layout as an entire new circuit, even if there were major changes. So Sakhir's Grand Prix and Endurance circuits count as the same track, as does the Österreichring and the A1-Ring (not that anyone won at both).

Without further ado:

1. Michael Schumacher - 23
2. Alain Prost - 22
3. Sebastian Vettel - 20
4. Fernando Alonso - 19
=. Nigel Mansell - 19
6. Ayrton Senna - 17
7. Lewis Hamilton - 16
8. Damon Hill - 15
9. Kimi Räikkönen - 14
=. Mika Häkkinen - 14
=. Nelson Piquet - 14
=. Niki Lauda - 14
=. Jackie Stewart - 14
14. Jim Clark - 13
15. Jack Brabham - 12
16. Jenson Button - 11
=. Mario Andretti - 11
=. Emerson Fittipaldi - 11
=. Stirling Moss - 11
20. Alan Jones - 10
=. Carlos Reutemann - 10
=. Juan Manuel Fangio - 10
23. Rubens Barrichello - 9
=. David Coulthard - 9
=. Denny Hulme - 9
26. Jacques Villeneuve - 8
=. Jody Scheckter - 8
=. James Hunt - 8
=. Graham Hill - 8
=. Alberto Ascari - 8
31. Felipe Massa - 7
=. Gerhard Berger - 7
=. René Arnoux - 7
=. Ronnie Peterson - 7
=. Jackie Ickx - 7
36. Mark Webber - 6
=. Ralf Schumacher - 6
=. Riccardo Patrese - 6
=. Jacques Laffite - 6
=. Gilles Villeneuve - 6
=. Jochen Rindt - 6
=. Tony Brooks - 6
43. Juan Pablo Montoya - 5
=. Keke Rosberg - 5
=. Michele Alboreto - 5
=. John Watson - 5
=. Giuseppe Farina - 5
48. Eddie Irine - 4
=. Clay Regazzoni - 4
=. Bruce McLaren - 4
=. John Surtees - 4
52. Nico Rosberg - 3
=. Giancarlo Fisichella - 3
=. Johnny Herbert - 3
=. Heinz-Harald Frentzen - 3
=. Thierry Boutsen - 3
=. Didier Pironi - 3
=. Dan Gurney - 3
=. Peter Collins - 3
60. Elio de Angelis - 2
=. Patrick Tambay - 2
=. Jean-Pierre Jabouille - 2
=. Patrick Depailler - 2
=. Peter Revson - 2
=. Jo Siffert - 2
=. Pedro Rodriguez - 2
=. Phil Hill - 2
=. Wolfgang von Trips - 2
=. Mike Hawthorn - 2
70. All other drivers who have won a grand prix - 1

Some observations:

1) Sebastian Vettel could overtake Michael Schumacher this season with if he wins at the Red Bull Ring, Hockenheim, Hungaroring, and Sochi.
2) Stirling Moss has won at the most circuits (11) without winning a world championship.
3) Phil Hill and Mike Hawthorn have won at the least circuits (2) while still winning world championships.

[Meatwad]

Has any driver been the champion with missing one or more of the races (not counting the Indianapolis 500)? Just wondering.

Alonso in 2005. Although he is officially counted as having retired from the race in Indianapolis...

[UncreativeUsername37]

Has any driver been the champion with missing one or more of the races (not counting the Indianapolis 500)? Just wondering.

Alonso in 2005. Although he is officially counted as having retired from the race in Indianapolis...

Really? I thought everyone got a DNS.

[Meatwad]

Has any driver been the champion with missing one or more of the races (not counting the Indianapolis 500)? Just wondering.

Alonso in 2005. Although he is officially counted as having retired from the race in Indianapolis...

Really? I thought everyone got a DNS.

F1.com has everyone listed as a retirement for some reason. It would indeed make more sense to have them as non-starters.

Admittedly, the F1 website has a lot of errors but the results from the last few years seem to be more reliable. I wonder how FIA listed the results.

[DonTirri]

I decided to do some research on the longevity of teams and the general stability of teams both top end and low end on the last few decades. Some quite interesting finds.

2000 - 2014
Teams that started the 2000 season: 11 (McLaren, Ferrari, WIlliams, Jordan, BAR, Jaguar, Benetton, Prost, Sauber, Arrows, Minardi.)
Teams that started the 2010 season: 12 (McLaren, Ferrari, Williams, Renault, Force India, Red Bull, Mercedes, Sauber, Toro Rosso, Virgin, Lotus, Hispania)
Out of the 11 Teams that started the 2000 season only 3 were still around at 2010. (4 if you discount Sauber's stint as BMW Sauber)
Teams that folded between 2000 and 2010: 2. Arrows/Prost
Teams that changed owners between 2000 and 2010: 5. Benetton -> Renault. Jaguar -> Red Bull. BAR -> Honda -> Brawn -> Mercedes. Jordan -> Midland -> Spyker -> Force India. Minardi -> Toro Rosso (6 if you count Sauber -> BMW Sauber -> Sauber)
New Teams that began competing between 2000 - 2010: 3. (Virgin, Lotus, Hispania)

Okay. Much of the above is well documented and well known. How about the nineties?

Teams that started the 1990 season: 19 (McLaren, Ferrari, Williams, Lotus, Brabham, Benetton, Minardi, Ligier, Tyrrell, Leyton House, Footwork, Osella, AGS, Scuderia Italia, Larrousse, Coloni, Eurobrun, Life, Onyx)
Teams that started the 2000 season: Look above
Out of the 19 teams that started the 1990 season only 5 were still around in 2000. (McLaren, Williams, Ferrari, Benetton, Minardi)
Teams that folded between 1990 and 2000: 11 (Onyx, Scuderia Italia, Larrousse, Lotus, Brabham, Leyton House, Osella, AGS, Coloni, EuroBrun, Life) (Not counting teams that were established after 1990 and later folded or changed hands)
Teams that changed owners between 1990 and 2000: 3. (Ligier -> Prost, Footwork -> Arrows, Tyrrell -> BAR) (Not counting teams that changed owners and then folded)
New teams that began competing between 1990 - 2000: 2.(Jordan, Sauber) (3 if you count Stewart -> Jaguar) (Not counting the myriad of teams that began and ended between that time period)
New teams that began competing after 1990 and folded before 2000: 5. (Life, Lambo, Pacific, Simtek, Forti) (Not counting teams that changed hands and then folded)

Soo... 90's were MESSY. How about the 80's?

Team that started the 1980 season: 15. (McLaren, Ferrari, WIlliams, Lotus, Brabham, Ensign, Shadow, Tyrrell, ATS, Renault, Fittipaldi, Ligier, Alfa Romeo, Arrows, Osella)
Teams that started the 1990 season: Look Above
Out of the 15 teams that started the 1980 season 8 were still around in 1990 (McLaren, Ferrari, Williams, Lotus, Brabham, Tyrrell, Ligier, Osella) (9 if you count Arrow -> Footwork)
Teams that folded between 1980 and 1990: 6 (ATS, Ensign, Shadow, Renault, Fittipaldi, Alfa Romeo) (Not counting etc)
Teams that changed owners between 1980 and 1990: 1 (Arrows -> Footwork) (Not counting etc)
New teams that began competing between 1980 - 1990: 8 (Minardi, Leyton House, Osella, AGS, Scuderia Italia, Coloni, Larrousse, Eurobrun, Onyx) (Not counting etc)
New teams that began competing after 1980 and folded before 1990: 4. (Spirit, Zakspeed, RAM, Rial) (Not counting etc)

So. the last 14 years has been the most stable time in F1 history since the dawn of "everyone builds their own car instead of buying a march" era, with 90's being the messiest decade of them all, not only seeing the fall of dozens of small outfits, but also spelling the doom for big names like Lotus, Brabham and Tyrrell. Not that I really had a point to make here, but I figured I'd get it out there.

[CaptainGetz12]

I decided to do some research on the longevity of teams and the general stability of teams both top end and low end on the last few decades. Some quite interesting finds.

2000 - 2014

Teams that folded between 2000 and 2010: 2. Arrows/Prost

Toyota? They raced from 2002 to 2009

[Bleu]

Denny Hulme has actually won on eight circuits, not nine. He has a kind of record, since all drivers who have won more Grand Prix's than him have won at least twice in certain location.

Hulme won eight Grand Prix's, all in different circuits: Monaco, Nürburgring, Monza, Mont-Tremblant, Mexico City, Kyalami, Anderstorp and Buenos Aires. Rene Arnoux took all his seven wins at different places.

Maurice Trintignant, Jose Froilan Gonzalez and Bill Vukovich are on the other group. All of them won at same circuit twice but never anywhere else. Of course, Vukovich was Indy 500 driver so he didn't really have a chance.

[good_Ralf]

I decided to do some research on the longevity of teams and the general stability of teams both top end and low end on the last few decades. Some quite interesting finds.

2000 - 2014

Teams that folded between 2000 and 2010: 2. Arrows/Prost

Toyota? They raced from 2002 to 2009

Prost and Arrows went out because they were in serious financial trouble. Although Toyota quit the sport mainly because of the recession and the fact that they sucked, they always had one of the largest budgets in the sport.

[good_Ralf]

Ralf Schumacher never scored points at Indianapolis, despite having a decent car at every one of his 8 attendances. He also finished only one race there and that was 2002, where he lost his rear wing at the start.

2000: Mechanical
2001: Spin
2002: 16th (collision)
2003: Crash
2004: Crash (due to tyre failure)
2005: Crash (due to tyre failure)
2006: Mechanical
2007: Collision

Williams, whom Ralf was associated in most of those years, never scored a podium here and double-DNFed in 2000, 2001, 2004 also double-DNSing in 2005.
Their best result at the track was JPM's 4th in 2002.

[Alextrax52]

Ralf Schumacher never scored points at Indianapolis, despite having a decent car at every one of his 8 attendances. He also finished only one race there and that was 2002, where he lost his rear wing at the start.

2000: Mechanical
2001: Spin
2002: 16th (collision)
2003: Crash
2004: Crash (due to tyre failure)
2005: Crash (due to tyre failure)
2006: Mechanical
2007: Collision

Williams, whom Ralf was associated in most of those years, never scored a podium here and double-DNFed in 2000, 2001, 2004 also double-DNSing in 2005.
Their best result at the track was JPM's 4th in 2002.

Montoya would have definitely podiumed in 2001 when the hydraulic pump broke and of course the two connected in 2002 and JPM had a wretched 2003 race and was DSQ'ed in 2004.

Yep Indy was never a kind place to Williams was it

[watka]

Could anyone be kind enough to look into something for me (I don't have the time myself at the moment!)?

I'm curious to see just what kind of damage a grid penalty for a mechanical change has actually done over the years. Its such a stigma for teams to change an engine/gearbox etc and they will run very conservatively just to avoid doing so. But for a top team (which is what I'd like to look at), does it matter that much? I'm thinking along the lines of, say, Massa getting a 3rd or 4th on the grid last season and expecting to slip back, compared to him starting at the back of the grid with a free choice of strategy and set-up. Are there any historic examples of a mechanical change benefiting a driver (I imagine such examples would be in safety car affected races)?

[go_Rubens]

In the final preseason test, the Lotus drivers set their fastest times, and they were rock solid last. In fact, so much so that Maldonado's fastest time was not within 107% of Massa's fastest time. And Grosjean just barely had a time good enough for 107%.

[gnrpoison]

These may have been done before but I find them quite quaint especially how those teams changed hands to their modern incarnations in the years that have followed.

In the 1985 season which was Toleman's last season before becoming Benetton and still exists as Lotus today, they raced against

Tyrrell who in some races entered the Tyrrell 012 (in 1983 this car was Benetton sponsored and was the main livery on the car)
Benetton Alfa Romeo (Full title for that team that year)
The Original Renault team
JPS liveried Team Lotus powered by Renaults (with Senna as one of the drivers)
So you had, Toleman, Benetton (in a way), Renault and Lotus as seperate teams competing against each other

In the early 1990s for Tyrrell for 1991 they were entered as:
Braun (I believed pronounced as Brawn) Tyrrell Honda
and for 1992 they carried Ilmor engines which I believe are now owned by Mercedes and build thier engines for the Mercedes (formally Tyrrell, BAR, Honda, Brawn) F1 Team or have in the past. I looked in vain to see if Tyrrell were also sponsored by a British American Tobacco product at that time but do not think they were as that would be quite eerie.

[Jocke1]

Two unusual stats, with the 2014 F1 drivers:



Career wins (no karting)

1. Sebastian Vettel ----------- 68 wins
2. Lewis Hamilton ------------ 59 wins
3. Romain Grosjean ---------- 49 wins
4. Fernando Alonso ---------- 39 wins
5. Nico Hulkenberg ---------- 37 wins
6. Kimi Raikkonen ----------- 34 wins
7. Jean-Eric Vergne --------- 32 wins
8. Valtteri Bottas ------------ 31 wins
9. Daniil Kvyat --------------- 29 wins
10. Kevin Magnussen ------- 29 wins
11. Daniel Ricciardo ------- 28 wins
12. Pastor Maldonado ----- 28 wins
13. Felipe Massa ----------- 27 wins
14. Sergio Perez ----------- 27 wins
15. Jenson Button --------- 27 wins
16. Jules Bianchi ---------- 25 wins
17. Nico Rosberg ---------- 23 wins
18. Kamui Kobayashi ----- 21 wins
19. Esteban Gutierrez --- 20 wins
20. Adrian Sutil ---------- 19 wins
21. Marcus Ericsson ----- 17 wins
22. Max Chilton ---------- 11 wins



Number of race crashes in F1:

1. Adrian Sutil ------------- 16
2. Jenson Button ---------- 15
3. Nico Rosberg ----------- 13
4. Felipe Massa ----------- 13
5. Kimi Raikkonen -------- 12
6. Lewis Hamilton -------- 11
7. Fernando Alonso -------- 9
8. Romain Grosjean ------- 7
9. Sebastian Vettel -------- 6
10. Pastor Maldonado ----- 6
11. Kamui Kobayashi ------ 6
12. Nico Hulkenberg ------ 5
13. Sergio Perez ----------- 4
14. Daniel Ricciardo ------ 2
15. Jules Bianchi ---------- 2
16. Esteban Gutierrez ---- 2
17. Jean-Eric Vergne ----- 2
18. Valtteri Bottas -------- 1
19. Daniil Kvyat ----------- 0
20. Kevin Magnussen ----- 0
21. Marcus Ericsson ------ 0
22. Max Chilton ---------- 0

[good_Ralf]

Number of race crashes in F1:

Does that include the number of times the drivers survived the incident or when they were involved in a collision?

[Jocke1]

Does that include the number of times the drivers survived the incident or when they were involved in a collision?

I counted the number of times their "race status" said 'crashed' and it led to a DNF. Did not count any spins or spin off's.
If a collision led to a DNF, it should be included.

[Aerospeed]

Sky F1's has released their betting odds for the season

Among other things:
Mercedes and Hamilton are favoured to win their championships,
Vettel is listed at 7/2 and Red Bull at 4/1 (both in second) despite their recent troubles,
Bottas is higher than Ricciardo, Magnussen is higher than both of them,
Sergio Perez has the same odds as Maldonado, and Grosjean has better odds than both of them,
Paul Di Resta is listed at 200/1 despite not having a seat,
And Caterham and Marussia are both listed at 5000/1.

[dr-baker]

Paul Di Resta is listed at 200/1 despite not having a seat,
And Caterham and Marussia are both listed at 5000/1.

Wait, what? Paul di Resta is many, many more times likely to win the title than some of those actually entered to compete?

[go_Rubens]

Sky F1's has released their betting odds for the season

Among other things:
Mercedes and Hamilton are favoured to win their championships,
Vettel is listed at 7/2 and Red Bull at 4/1 (both in second) despite their recent troubles,
Bottas is higher than Ricciardo, Magnussen is higher than both of them,
Sergio Perez has the same odds as Maldonado, and Grosjean has better odds than both of them,
Paul Di Resta is listed at 200/1 despite not having a seat,
And Caterham and Marussia are both listed at 5000/1.

Now, that's just wrong.

[Jocke1]

The most experienced driver on the grid in 2014, Jenson Button (247 GP), has never retired from a race due to brake failure.
Is that unusual? Well, only four other drivers have more race starts than Button in the history of F1, and here are the number of
times they have DNF:ed due to the brakes:

Rubens Barrichello - 1 time
Michael Schumacher - 1 time
Riccardo Patrese - 6 times
Jarno Trulli - 5 times

So yes, it's quite unusual that Button has managed to make his brakes last his entire career, so far.
But I'm probably jinxing him by writing this, and he will likely DNF in Melbourne with a brake failure.

[Sublime_FA11C]

Singapore 2009, Webber spins off following a front brake failure. This was a lap after pitting, and the brakes were checked because of lots of black smoke appeared during braking. One engineer scraped a fistfull of carbon dust from the pit box. Now, fortunatley for him, Webber knew it could happen and once the brake gave in, he pitched the car into a spin and semi controlled the crash. Even more fortunatley he wasn't in the braking zone for the Singapore Sling where's there's little runoff.

Both Toro Rossos were presumed to have retired with brake failure as well (In Buemi's case it was correct), then Webber, then in the dying laps Vettel and Button were struck with major brake problems. Both had to back off rather than challenge for the lead. Button was called via pit radio and advised to coast as much as possible and save his brakes. He did. Coasting almost halfway across the Esplanade bridge... Ugly plumes of black smoke appeared whenever Button was in a braking zone and he backed well off the pace. So much so that he was lapping 10s slower than Barichello per lap. In the end, Rubens ran out of laps but still finished meters away from Button.

Had Rubens been closer, Button would have been forced to at least consider defending because his title was still far from sealed and delivered. Had his team not had acces to telemetry or been spooked by RB/STR brake failures, he would have certainly lost them. If you see the amount of black smoke coming off the front wheels, i think you'd agree. It looked exactly like Webber's prior to his incident. This is as close as Button came to brake failure without actually suffering an accident, though lapping 10s off the pace is devastating in it's own right.

[good_Ralf]

This is a list of the lowest position each current winner on the grid has won from:

Alonso - 11th (discounting Singapore 2008)
Button - 14th
Hamilton - 4th
Maldonado - 1st
Massa - 2nd
Raikkonen - 17th
Rosberg - 2nd
Vettel - 3rd

[madmark1974]

An interesting comparison :

Jenson Button 247 races, 15 wins, 1,697.5 points

David Coulthard 246 races, 13 wins, 1,694 points

[SgtPepper]

An interesting comparison :

Jenson Button 247 races, 15 wins, 1,697.5 points

David Coulthard 246 races, 13 wins, 1,694 points

Is that adjusted for differing points eras?

[madmark1974]

An interesting comparison :

Jenson Button 247 races, 15 wins, 1,697.5 points

David Coulthard 246 races, 13 wins, 1,694 points

Is that adjusted for differing points eras?

Dunno, it was posted on the BBC's website as they've been doing some analysis of driver stats ...

EDIT : It must be, as StatsF1 have Button on 1072 and Coulthard on 535.

[Jocke1]

An interesting comparison :

Jenson Button 247 races, 15 wins, 1,697.5 points

David Coulthard 246 races, 13 wins, 1,694 points

Is that adjusted for differing points eras?

Dunno, it was posted on the BBC's website as they've been doing some analysis of driver stats ...

EDIT : It must be, as StatsF1 have Button on 1072 and Coulthard on 535.

Races
JB - 247
DC - 246

Wins
JB - 15
DC - 13

Podiums
JB - 49
DC - 62

Poles
JB - 8
DC - 12

Laps
JB - 13139
DC - 12394

Led laps
JB - 760
DC - 903

Points
comparing their points, is .. pointless

Average starting position
JB - 9.4
DC - 7.7

Average finishing position
JB - 9.1
DC - 9.5

Running at finish
JB - 185
DC - 164

Lead lap finishes
JB - 140
DC - 120

Top 5 finishes
JB - 94
DC - 93

Top 10 finishes
JB - 157
DC - 147

Second place finishes
JB - 15
DC - 26

Win %
JB - 6.07 %
DC - 5.28 %

Championships
JB - 1
DC - 0

DNF's
JB - 62
DC - 82


Total
Button 11
Coulthard 5

[Jocke1]

Poles from 2007 to 2014


1. Sebastian Vettel - 45
2. Lewis Hamilton - 32
3. Mark Webber - 13
4. Felipe Massa - 12
5. Fernando Alonso - 7
6. Jenson Button - 5
7. Kimi Raikkonen - 5
8. Nico Rosberg - 4
9. Rubens Barrichello - 1
10. Giancarlo Fisichella - 1
11. Nico Hulkenberg - 1
12. Heikki Kovalainen - 1
13. Robert Kubica - 1
14. Pastor Maldonado - 1
15. Jarno Trulli - 1

[pi314159]

At the 1996 Australian GP, Damon Hill, son of world champion Graham Hill won the race, and Jacques Villeneuve, son of Gilles, scored 2nd at his F1 debut race.

Today, Nico Rosberg, son of world champion Keke, won the race, and Kevin Magnussen, son of Jan, scored 2nd at his F1 debut.

[Ferrim]

And while Damon's father was a world champion, Jacques' wasn't, exactly the same for Nico and Kevin respectively. Of course we cannot compare Gilles' and Jan's careers, but still is striking...

So this means Rosberg Jr. is going to become 2014 world champion, after a year of domination only contested by his teammate, and their main opposition being the current champion, a German in a car not as good as theirs? Time will tell, but I was already ruing not having bet on Rosberg when he was 20/1 and this only makes it worse!

[Jocke1]

At the 1996 Australian GP, Damon Hill, son of world champion Graham Hill won the race, and Jacques Villeneuve, son of Gilles, scored 2nd at his F1 debut race.

Today, Nico Rosberg, son of world champion Keke, won the race, and Kevin Magnussen, son of Jan, scored 2nd at his F1 debut.

So when will Jan launch his music career?