F1 2012 India - Qualifying Summary

A quick graphical summary of qualifying for the 2012 Formula One Grand Prix...

To start with, here's how the best recorded sector times for each driver compare, as viewed under the lens of deltas compared to the fasted overall time recorded in each sector - the bottom 3 teams are clearly slower in all 3 sectors:

The following chart splits out the sector time deltas within each team - for RBR, we see that VET beat WEB in sectors 1 and 3, and in the Ferraris, MAS beat ALO in sector 1: 

We can also look at how each driver fared with their fastest recorded laptime during qualifying compared to their ultimate lap - BUT did his best performance in Q2:

Here we see how close to the best recorded time in each sector each driver fared: HAM excelled in sector 1, whereas the Red Bulls shared the honours in sectors 2 and 3:

A peek at how the overall sector time deltas (compared to the best recorded sector times) added up - drivers are ordered by car/driver number:

We can also order the summed deltas by the qualifying session classification - if PIC had driven an ultimate lap, he might have improved his classification... MAL, ROS and GRO also look like they may have missed out by not making it into Q3:

Here we look at sector deltas against rank in each sector (not, as labelled, the session classification) - there's clear differentiation between the back marker teams and the rest of the field in sector 2:

Alternatively, we can rank according to overall qualifying classification sector 3 appears to correlate most closely to overall ranking, whereas there are different gains and losses to be had in sectors 1 and 2:

The next chart looks at normalised sector times - and the normalised speed - ordered by driver number; note how comparatively slow the Red Bulls are, and how the Ferraris seem to be a tad faster than the McLarens.

How do qualifying session times compare to the overall qualifying classification? As noted before, did MAL, ROS and GRO miss out?

How did the drivers' times in each session compare with their ultimate lap? HAM presumably made mistakes in each session compared to his ultimate possible lap?

The next chart lets us see how each team fared in terms of sector deltas compared to the best overall sector time, as well as comparing driver performances within each team. If BUT and ALO could both make up one or two tenths per sector, they'd be nailing it? HAM's sector deltas are more dispersed though?

Another take on how far each driver was away from their ultimate laptime in terms of their best recorded laptime throughout qualifying - KOV really seems to have messed up, and HAM obviously dropped time compared to his ultimate lap:

And finally, how drivers' overall classification in qualifying compared to their rank in terms of sector best times - again, we see the closest correlation in sector 3, with GRO and ROS both faring better in terms of sector rank in sectors 1 and 2 than their overall classification might suggest: On the other hand, RAI had lousy sector 1 and 2 rankings compared to his final qualifying classification, but a good performance in sector 3:

PS here's a summary of classifications across the quali sessions: