NOTE: Full version of this Notebook is at Kaggle.

This notebook shows race traces for each F1 race in 2023, 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 2023.

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

Revisions¶

• version 1: updated to Race 1 — Bahrain Grand Prix
• version 2: updated to Race 2 — Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
• version 3: updated to Race 3 — Australian Grand Prix
• version 4: updated to Race 4 — Azerbaijan Grand Prix
• version 5: updated to Race 5 — Miami Grand Prix
• version 7: updated to Race 6 — Monaco Grand Prix
• version 8: updated to Race 7 — Spanish Grand Prix
• version 9: updated to Race 8 — Canadian Grand Prix
• version 10: updated to Race 9 — Austrian Grand Prix
• version 11: updated to Race 10 — British Grand Prix
• version 12: updated to Race 11 — Hungarian Grand Prix
• version 13: updated to Race 12 — Belgian Grand Prix
• version 14: updated to Race 13 — Dutch Grand Prix
• version 15: updated to Race 14 — Italian Grand Prix
• version 16: updated to Race 15 — Singapore Grand Prix
• version 17: updated to Race 16 — Japanese Grand Prix
• version 18: updated to Race 17 — Qatar Grand Prix
• version 19: updated to Race 18 — United States Grand Prix
• version 20: updated to Race 18 — United States Grand Prix
• version 20: updated to Race 19 — Mexico City Grand Prix
• version 21: updated to Race 20 — São Paulo Grand Prix
• version 22: updated to Race 21 — Las Vegas Grand Prix
• version 23: updated to Race 22 — Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

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.

2023 Formula One World Championship¶

For background see Wikipedia; here's an excerpt:

The 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship was a motor racing championship for Formula One cars, which is the 74th running of the Formula One World Championship. It is recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the governing body of international motorsport, as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. The championship was contested over twenty-two Grands Prix held around the world, beginning in March and ending in November.

Drivers and teams competed for the titles of World Drivers' Champion and World Constructors' Champion, respectively. Max Verstappen, won his third consecutive Drivers' Champion title at the Qatar Grand Prix, while his team Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT achieved their sixth Constructors' Champions title, the second consecutively, at the preceding Japanese Grand Prix.

Laps Per Position¶

Top F1 Drivers 2023¶