NOTE: Full version of this Notebook is at Kaggle.

This notebook shows race traces for each F1 race in 1999, 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 1999.

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.

1999 Formula One World Championship¶

For background see Wikipedia; here's an excerpt:

The 1999 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 53rd season of Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) Formula One motor racing. It commenced on 7 March and ended on 31 October after sixteen races.

The Drivers' Championship was won for a second consecutive time by Mika Häkkinen, although Eddie Irvine, David Coulthard and Heinz-Harald Frentzen all had a chance of winning the title at various stages. Ferrari won their ninth Constructors' title, and their first since the 1983 season, paving the way for the Michael Schumacher era of Ferrari dominance beginning in 2000. However, Schumacher's participation in the 1999 championship was cut short due to injury at the British Grand Prix, where he suffered a broken leg in a crash. He returned for the last two races of the season in order to assist Irvine in his championship run.

The championship finale was set up in controversial circumstances: at the inaugural Malaysian Grand Prix, Ferrari took first and second places, but were disqualified for a breach of the technical regulations. They were reinstated on appeal, ensuring that Irvine had the title lead before the final race in Japan. If Schumacher won, fourth or higher would seal the title for Irvine. Schumacher took pole but lost the start to Häkkinen who then drove away at the front, never being troubled for position by Schumacher in spite of his running close all race. Had Ferrari switched their cars Irvine would have still lost the title on countback due to Häkkinen's five wins compared with Irvine's four. In the end Irvine finished a distant third and fell short in his championship title bid.

The season saw successes for the Jordan and Stewart teams, with Heinz-Harald Frentzen finishing third in the title race for Jordan and Johnny Herbert winning Stewart's first and only Grand Prix victory at the Nürburgring. The season also saw former dominant team Williams run a second season in a row without victories in spite of a few podiums from breakthrough youngster Ralf Schumacher, with two-time Champ Car champion Alessandro Zanardi finishing the season without scoring points. Former Williams driver and 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve had joined the new British American Racing team, and also finished the season with no points, having retired from 12 of the 16 races.

Laps Per Position¶

Top F1 Drivers 1999¶

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 "1999 Formula One World Championship", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.