Nithyanandam Ramasamy
The British GP has given us a weekend to savour for a long time. This race will be talked about by generations to come. Surprisingly, the new format is not the talking point. The events that unfolded on Sunday have overshadowed the F1 Sprint that has happened on Saturday. Let’s move away from the obvious and talk about data! In this week’s data analysis, we will delve into how Charles Leclerc controlled the race in the first stint and how Lewis Hamilton caught him later.
Impeccable Charles Leclerc:
It’s amazing how Ferrari recovered from a forgettable French GP to nearly winning the British GP within a few weeks. Charles Leclerc has driven one of the best races of his career, if not the best. He controlled the race after inheriting the lead due to the first lap shenanigans between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. He has led 49 laps and was nearing an unlikely victory before succumbing to Lewis Hamilton’s blistering pace in the 50th lap. His race craft was impeccable as it has nearly come to Italy for the second week running. It was so close yet so far for the Monegasque driver.
First Stint:
Charles Leclerc’s first stint was terrific as he was the fastest driver on the track. His lap times during the first stint were nearly half a second faster than Lando Norris and Valtteri Bottas despite running a longer first stint. Despite facing engine cut for a few laps, he still managed to lap 0.137s faster than Lewis Hamilton in the first stint. In the meantime, Carlos Sainz started the race on 10-position and was able to move up to 6th. For time being, he was running second and was well on course to finish 5th or could have even taken up a challenge to Lando Norris for the 4th position. Surely, Ferraris were great in clean air, and also their mediums were on the perfect window during the hot conditions.
Second Stint:
The second stint was a Lewis Hamilton masterclass. He lapped 0.7s faster than Charles Leclerc during the second stint. Even a few personal bests from Charles Leclerc wasn’t enough to match Lewis Hamilton’s pace on hard tyres. That Mercedes was unbelievably quick on low fuels. His teammate Valtteri Bottas could only post lap times that were 0.8s slower than Lewis Hamilton in the second stint. The lap times of the trio of Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo were more than a second off Lewis Hamilton’s pace.
How Lewis Hamilton caught Charles Leclerc?:
When Charles Leclerc exited the pit, Lewis Hamilton was nearly 13s behind him in 4th position. On lap 31, Lewis Hamilton has managed to ease past his fellow Brit Lando Norris for the 3rd position. After passing Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton was able to lap 0.7s faster than Charles Leclerc. Lewis Hamilton had overheating issues during his medium stint. It was negated by a hard tyre and Mercedes were on optimal balance during the second stint.
Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes was a different beast altogether on hard tyres. Extended first stint and low fuel towards the end mean Lewis Hamilton was able to push the car up to the limits and pass Charles Leclerc on lap 50. At the same time, Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari had a couple of issues. According to James Allison, in his debrief, Ferrari weren’t as happy with the pace in hard tyre as mediums, and also they have used their fuel harder in the first half of the race and had to pay a bit of debt in the second half. Once Ferrari have handled their fuel situation, Lewis Hamilton was well within the range of passing Charles Leclerc.
Ferrari would be gutted and be happy with the way things have gone in Silverstone.A truly dramatic weekend at the British GP. Lewis Hamilton, with his win, has closed the gap to Max Verstappen by just 8 points. Ferrari have also shown that they are capable of fighting for podium places this season on their day and take up the fight to Mclaren for 3rd position in the standings. Buckle up! The season has just picked up the pace.
