NOTE: Full version of this Notebook is at Kaggle.

This notebook visualizes race traces for every F1 Grand Prix in 2001, using historical data from the Formula 1 Race Data dataset (provided by ergast.com and updated on Kaggle after every race), along with race event information from Wikipedia.

Race traces are a great way to capture the dynamics of a Grand Prix. They show the gaps between cars, how the field spreads out over time, and the relative pace of each car as the race progresses. These traces are based on cumulative lap times, adjusted using the median lap time at each point in the race. The horizontal zero line serves as a reference for a virtual car running at the field’s median average lap time—cars above this line are faster, while those below are slower.

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 2001.

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, 2025.

2001 Formula One World Championship¶

For background see Wikipedia; here's an excerpt:

The 2001 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 55th season of FIA Formula One racing. It commenced on 4 March 2001 and ended on 14 October after seventeen races. Michael Schumacher won the Drivers' title with a record margin of 58 points, after achieving nine victories and five-second places and Ferrari won the Constructors' award. The season also marked the reintroduction of several electronic driver aid systems; including traction control, launch control, and fully-automatic transmissions, with the FIA permitting their use starting at the Spanish Grand Prix. Electronic driver aids had previously been banned since 1994. Schumacher also broke the all-time Formula One Grand Prix wins record during the season, his victory at the Belgian Grand Prix marking his 52nd career win.

Future world champions Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen made their Grand Prix debuts in Melbourne, for Minardi and Sauber respectively. Colombian former CART champion Juan Pablo Montoya also made his F1 debut, with Williams.

There were new beginnings for French companies Renault and Michelin. After four years out of the sport since 1997, Renault returned to supply engines to the Benetton team, while Michelin's comeback as a tyre supplier provided Bridgestone with competition for the first time since Goodyear left the sport at the end of the 1998 season. At the other end of the spectrum fellow French company Peugeot withdrew from the sport after seven years since 1994 following a disastrous season in 2000 as an engine supplier to Prost. The assets of Peugeot's Formula One programme were purchased by Asia Motor Technologies France and the 2000-spec powerplants were rebadged as Asiatechs and supplied to Arrows free of charge.

At the end of the season, double world champion Mika Häkkinen announced his intention to take a one-year sabbatical in 2002; eventually this became full-time retirement. Also racing for the last time in 2001 was Jean Alesi, who passed the 200 race mark shortly before his final Grand Prix in Japan. Veteran British commentator Murray Walker gave his final commentary at the United States Grand Prix (which would also turn out to be Mika Häkkinen's last victory in the sport).

The Prost and Benetton names disappeared from the sport at the end of 2001; Prost folded due to a lack of finances while Benetton was re-branded as Renault after the French manufacturer bought the team outright.

The Drivers' Championship was won with ease by Michael Schumacher, who finished 58 points clear of David Coulthard in second place. It was Schumacher's fourth world championship, equalling Alain Prost's total. With Michael Schumacher's teammate, Rubens Barrichello, tallying 10 podiums throughout the season, Ferrari also won the Constructors' Championship by a substantial margin. Unlike the previous title-winning season, Schumacher was very consistent throughout the campaign and scored his nine wins more spread evenly out through the season. His title was sealed with four races remaining after a commanding win in Hungary. Coulthard's title challenge looked strong early on, winning two of the first six races and being neck and neck with Schumacher for the title lead. He also qualified on pole position in Monaco, only to stall on the grid. With Schumacher winning the race and Coulthard recovering only to fifth, it was a turning point of the season. Coulthard would not win again for the rest of the year and had dropped off massively by mid-season as Schumacher kept either winning or finishing second with few exceptions all season.

Williams drivers Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya both scored their maiden wins in the sport, at San Marino and Italy respectively. The younger Schumacher added victories in Canada and Germany, giving the team four wins in total, marking a return to success for the Oxfordshire team after three years without a victory since 1997. The Schumacher brothers also scored historic family 1–2 finishes in Canada and France.

McLaren secured four wins during the season. These were shared equally among their drivers: Häkkinen winning in Britain and the United States, Coulthard winning in Brazil and Austria.

Laps Per Position¶

Top F1 Drivers 2001¶

F1 Teams 2001¶