http://www.mclaren.c...ing-telemetry-1
McLaren haven't really described a hell lot but all credit to them to share such intricate and confidential data. Really shows many aspects which we don't usually see when he's whizzing past.
The graph usually has time increasing as a component on the X axis. The data shared by McLaren has the following traces which increase with the Y - axis :
Purple (Top)
Shows us the Engine RPM.
Red (Stepped)
The stepped binary graph-like trace show the gear the car is travelling in. A down step means a downshift , an up-step means an upshift. Formula One cars have a 7 speed gearbox .
Its interesting to note the small fluctuations which are caused by the gearshifts when the RPM drops ever so slightly.
Blue
Traces the steering input of the driver , this is probably the most interesting bit if we have to compare driving styles between drivers . Driver coaches usually use this to discuss unwanted spikes and corrections to improve a drivers skill behind the wheel. McLaren have declared the data belongs to Lewis. It'll be interesting to notice the subtle corrections and habits in his driving style.
Up = Right. Down = Left.
McLaren have indicated this as the opposite which really baffled me trying to read it initially but I correlated this with the telemetry ScarbsF1 had posted some time back. A positive spike is right , negative=left
Red(linear)
Throttle Input of the driver is measure here. Full throttle is achieved when the trace reaches the uppermost flat line . This is another key aspect of deciphering a driver's driving style.
Black
Car Speed, very interesting to note the mid-corner speed . This would have been useful to compare different styles as well since some drivers who tend to be on the smoother side usually carry lesser speed into the corner and focus on a better exit speed while others focus on a higher mid-corner speed losing a bit on the exit.
Purple(Bottom)
The bottom purple line indicates the brake input.
Eau Rouge(Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps)
The Racing Line picked up by the telemetry through Eau Rouge.
The Purple line indicates the position of the car and the black lines show us the confines of the track.
The data starts on the entry to Eau Rouge , Lewis here shifts to 7th gear(Bump in the Top Red line) . Usually a driver would use 6th to get more torque up the hill and then change to 7th as he exits but this can change due to a variety of factors such as wind speed or even saving the tyres and engine. As he shifts up there is no drop in speed ( a seamless shift , testament to modern F1 cars), the revs drop a bit.
He here has minimized the time taken and maximized the speed , ensuring a good exit speed as well. He's taken a large chunk of the inside kerb was taken by steering left , He does this to straighten the car as much as possible for the next corner within the limits of the track so as to use lesser steering angle. Any speed unnecessarily lost here due to an excess lateral load on the tires or excess scrub will obviously hurt the top speed attained at the end of the following straight . This is how tenths are gained. He's hit the inside apex of Eau Rouge and is steady with his approach through the right hand kink and smoothly kisses the exit apex of Radillion. All this while he is flat out as indicated by the bottom red line in other graph.
His speed and RPM does drop a little even though he in on full throttle This is due to the sheer steepness of Eau Rouge , even though its easy flat it does take some revs off.
Massenet and Casino (Circuit de Monaco)
Things get a little crazy here. On the approach to the quick left hander , Massenet he shifts up till 7th gear , gaining speed and on full throttle. We can then notice his breaking as the first green circle from your left ; he leaves the throttle , dabs on the breaks the speeds plummet ( that's a drop of around 100 kmph in 1 second) , he downshifts to 4th, he now is easing off the breaks gradually , feeling the grip on the car till he has the confidence to get back on the power again. He is very steady with his throttle increase .
We then notice inside the Golden Circle a significant anomaly to the smooth throttle input, a valley of sorts. If we correlate this with the blue line highlighted inside the golden circle we can deduce that he might have been a micro-second of a correction. The steering angle suddenly goes static even though he was going to turn right.
The speed increases slightly until Hamilton is on the breaks again for the entry of Casino , steering now on quite some lock as he turns right.
Another anomaly is the drop in revs as he exits Casino ( Red Circle) , this was caused by a bump at the exit of Casino , correlating with the steering trace we see a another nice oversteer-moment.
Two things really astonish me here .
Firstly, I've highlighted his throttle and brake inputs in the green circle. There is absolutely no lag in getting off the throttle and getting on the breaks , seems easier said than done since we're talking microseconds here. He's losing no time in reducing speed as he comes off the throttle, making even inch count on the track.
Secondly, look at the apexes he hits through Massenet and Casino. We're talking about Monaco here, there area no run off areas. He's brushing the barriers that close here at 240 kph , lap after lap!
Becketts (Silverstone)
These corners are taken at 280-300 kph.
McLaren claim that Lewis’s approach is to send the car in as fast as he can, then deal with it later. If he’s got the grip, he’s away; if he hasn’t, he’s got the talent to deal with it. It’s a win-win situation for him.
As he enters Maggots reaching a peak speed of 295 kph , he has a "mini" lift with which he drops about 20 kph itself with that showing just how much downforce these cars carry. He's full throttle for the next mini left hander and then for Becketts he lifts of completely and just feathers the brakes , he does to counter the lateral loads on the car,stabilizing it to avoid any nasty surprises. He's communicating with the car , telling it to prepare itself for the next fast right hander as he comes off the throttle once again and then quickly straightens the car up quickly, shifts up through the gears to 7th and steadily reaches full throttle. Again here he tries not to scrub off any speed which may affect his top speed at the end of the Hangar straight which follows consequently.
http://alfonsjosef1....s-hamilton.html
Edited by Alfons, 01 September 2012 - 06:38.
