NOTE: Full version of this Notebook is at Kaggle.

This notebook shows race traces for each F1 race in 1996, using the Formula 1 Race Data data set, which is sourced from ergast.com, and the Formula 1 Race Events dataset using data from Wikipedia.

Race traces provide an excellent way to visualize the progress of an entire Grand Prix. They show the gaps between cars, the general field spread, and the relative pace of each car throughout the race as a line gradient. The traces are calculated using cumulative race lap times, which are adjusted by the median lap time at that point in the race. The horizontal zero line represents a virtual reference car completing the average lap time of the field. The lines above this zero line depict faster cars, while the lines below it represent slower ones.

Here are some key features of the race traces:

• The line colors for each driver are based on their team colors.
• The fastest lap is marked with a ★.
• Laps where a car went via the pit lane are marked with a ●.
• Laps affected by the safety car are highlighted in yellow, indicating why the gaps between cars have reduced.
• Overtakes are visible where the lines cross, often due to pit-stops.
• Truncated lines indicate retirement from the race.

The shadow at the bottom of the trace indicates which cars have been lapped by the lead car. This helps to reveal some effects, such as leaders making pit-stops to avoid slower traffic ahead. Backmarkers must allow leading cars through, and the edge of the shadow shows why their lines suddenly dip. Leaders may also ease off to let a lapped car through at the end of a race.

It's worth noting that good safety car data is hard to find, and the data scraped from Wikipedia may contain some mistakes. Therefore, the virtual safety car highlights in the traces are the author's estimates using lap-time data.

Overall, these race traces offer a comprehensive and informative way to understand the progress of each F1 race in 1996.

Tip: to see better resolution, <Right click> → Open Image in New Tab.

Revisions¶

• version 2: moved legends to bottom to allow more width
• version 3: added constructors championship plot and driver/team table links
• version 4: add origin to championship traces & link for 2021
• version 5: add fastest lap marker
• version 6: added laps per position and top drivers chart
• version 7: safety car, red flag & lapped cars highlighting

All F1 Race Traces¶

There is a notebook for every year that has lap-time data:

1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024.

1996 Formula One World Championship¶

For background see Wikipedia; here's an excerpt:

The 1996 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 50th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. The championship commenced on 10 March and ended on 13 October after sixteen races. Two World Championship titles were awarded, one for Drivers and one for Constructors.

Damon Hill won the Drivers' Championship two years after being beaten by a point by Michael Schumacher, making him the first son of a World Champion (his father Graham having won the title in 1962 and 1968) to have won the title himself. Hill, who had finished runner-up for the past two seasons, was seriously threatened only by his teammate, newcomer Jacques Villeneuve, the 1995 IndyCar and Indianapolis 500 champion. Williams-Renault easily won the Constructors' title, as there was no other competitor strong enough to post a consistent challenge throughout the championship. This was also the beginning of the end of Williams's 1990s dominance, as it was announced that Hill and designer Adrian Newey would depart at the conclusion of the season, with engine manufacturer Renault also leaving after 1997.

Two-time defending world champion Michael Schumacher had moved to Ferrari and despite numerous reliability problems, they had gradually developed into a front-running team by the end of the season. Defending Constructors' Champion Benetton began their decline towards the middle of the grid, having lost key personnel due to Schumacher's departure, and failed to win a race. Olivier Panis took the only victory of his career at the Monaco Grand Prix.

Laps Per Position¶

Top F1 Drivers 1996¶

More F1 Race Traces¶

1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024.

See Also¶

This notebook shows the same idea for one MotoGP race, and explores several ways of adjusting the plots to highlight new details.

This notebook uses material from the Wikipedia article "1996 Formula One World Championship", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.