NOTE: Full version of this Notebook is at Kaggle.

This notebook shows race traces for each F1 race in 2019, using the Formula 1 World Championship 1950-2021 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.
• Virtual safety cars, introduced in 2015, are highlighted in orange, as they cause the lines to spread out temporarily since leaders have completed more of the first affected lap at racing speeds.
• 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 2019.

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

Revisions¶

• version 2: added constructors championship plot and driver/team table links
• version 3: add origin to championship traces & link for 2021
• version 4: add fastest lap marker
• version 5: added laps per position and top drivers chart
• version 6: 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.

2019 Formula One World Championship¶

For background see Wikipedia; here's an excerpt:

The 2019 FIA Formula One World Championship was the motor racing championship for Formula One cars which marked the 70th running of the Formula One World Championship. It is recognised by the governing body of international motorsport, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. Starting in March and ending in December, the championship was contested over twenty-one Grands Prix. Drivers competed for the title of World Drivers' Champion, and teams for the title of World Constructors' Champion. The 2019 championship also saw the running of the 1000th World Championship race, the 2019 Chinese Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton successfully defended the World Drivers' Championship for the second year running, winning his sixth championship title at the United States Grand Prix. Mercedes successfully defended the World Constructors' Championship, securing the title for the sixth consecutive year at the Japanese Grand Prix to tie Ferrari's record from 1999 to 2004.

Laps Per Position¶

Top F1 Drivers 2019¶