Hamilton vs Bottas

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Overall the two drivers were nip and tuck throughout the lap, trading blows as the lap progressed. Interestingly Bottas is faster on the main straight when starting the lap with no significant speed deltas observed elsewhere in the lap. Did Hamilton start the lap poorly? Hamilton snatched pole from Bottas with a faster T13-16, the majority of sector 3, perhaps pointing towards keeping his tyres in better shape for this final sector.

Each driver has their own method of tackling the high-speed T11-12, with Bottas only lifting whereas Hamilton lifts less but also applies some brake. T4 also exhibits similarities to this. Bottas also loses time by shifting up into 8th gear before T11 creating a small but non-negligible power deficit relative to Hamilton.

Bottas seems to be faster through slow-medium speed corners but this is earlier in the lap and may be due to using up the tyres a little more than Hamilton. This may also be due to their styles during the lap, Hamilton does generally brake later than Bottas but also gets on the power earlier, perhaps this is a sign of Hamilton wanting to finish rotating the car earlier to help with traction as a cost of apex speed.

Vettel vs Leclerc

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Like the battle between Hamilton and Bottas this is also a close one with the significant difference occurring in sector 3 as Vettel starts to pull away from Leclerc. As mentioned above, this may be due to how drivers manage how much grip they use across the lap and Vettel has simply done this better if this is the case. Leclerc, like Bottas, is also faster on the main straight than Vettel.

Interestingly in the high speed T11-12 Vettel uses an approach similar to Bottas’, while Leclerc’s is closer to Hamilton’s, and unlike the two Mercedes drivers, there is a noticeable difference in the result as Vettel is significantly faster than Leclerc here. Perhaps Leclerc made an error or his approach just wasn’t optimal for the current under-steering characteristics of the Ferrari.

Vettel is also able to brake slightly later than Leclerc whilst also getting marginally better traction, but there may be some difference in downforce levels here as Leclerc hits higher top speeds near the end of straights. Vettel also is on the brakes less but one cannot read too much into this due to the binary nature of the brake trace (the applied brake pressure is unknown).

Hamilton vs Vettel

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Ferrari and Vettel lose time consistently throughout the lap but largely in the corners, not on the straights, indicating that Ferrari’s PU works at a competitive performance level, at least over a quali lap. Though it should be noted that the Ferrari PU is generally at a lower RPM than the Mercedes which could indicate that they have withheld some performance there. Also note the slight drop in speed for Vettel before he brakes for T1, a sign of derating due to PU management or just strategic ERS deployment.

The main issue for Ferrari is the fact that the Mercedes was generally able to brake later and also carry more apex speed, though Ferrari’s seemingly stronger traction does somewhat mitigate this deficit. A potential counterpoint to this traction is that Vettel and Ferrari short shift out of slow corners. Downforce levels appear to be similar as Vettel and Hamilton are evenly matched through T11-12, the highest speed corners in the circuit, as well as T15 which is lower but still high speed.

Hamilton vs Verstappen

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Immediately evident is the strong straightline speeds by the Red Bull with it’s new Honda PU, a sign that Honda has made some good progress. However, it’s likely that the Red Bull was running less downforce to help with this straightline speed as it is much slower in the high speed T11-12/T15, and may also explain why Verstappen brakes earlier than Hamilton multiple times. The RPM of the Honda PU is also significantly and quite consistently lower than that of the Mercedes PU so Honda still appears to have a good amount of work to do.

Unlike the Ferrari, and perhaps with less downforce, the Red Bull doesn’t need to brake for T4 and T14, though it is difficult to determine whether this is driver style or car characteristic dependent. Relative to Mercedes the Red Bull remains close in slow corners and perhaps gets closer even near the end of the lap, possibly a sign that it keeps its tyres in good condition throughout the lap.