Using the site
F1 race pace explained: who was really fastest?
The finishing order and the speed order are often different. A driver can finish fifth with the third-fastest car after a slow pit stop, a bad start or a race spent stuck in traffic. Race pace is our attempt to show the speed underneath.
How we measure it
For each driver we take every lap they completed and throw out the ones that don't reflect their real speed:
- The first lap, which includes the standing start and first-corner traffic.
- Pit laps: the lap they came into the pits and the lap they came out.
- Slow laps: any lap more than 7% slower than the fastest lap of the race. That removes laps behind the safety car or virtual safety car, and laps spent limping back with damage.
What's left are the "clean" racing laps. We then take each driver's median clean lap: the middle value when the laps are sorted from fastest to slowest. The median is used rather than the average so that one very fast lap on fresh tyres, or one slow lap in traffic, can't distort the picture. A driver needs at least five clean laps to be included.
Reading the bars
The Race pace tab lists drivers from quickest to slowest typical lap, with each bar scaled so the gap between the fastest and slowest is easy to see. The number is the median lap time.
What race pace can't tell you
- Strategy: a driver on a two-stop runs more of the race on fresher tyres, so their median can look better than a one-stopper's even if they finished behind.
- Traffic and dirty air: a fast car stuck behind a slower one has its laps held up, but those laps still count.
- Managing the gap: a race leader with a big lead often slows down to save the car and tyres. Their median can understate how quick they really were.
- Team orders: one teammate may be told to hold position or to save fuel.
So treat race pace as a strong clue, not a verdict. It's most useful between teammates (same car, same conditions) and between drivers on similar strategies; the tyre strategy chart shows you who those are.
