F1 to introduce car performance score, driver comparisons for new graphics

Formula 1 will introduce a car performance score that will be shown in new graphics on television broadcasts to compare the strengths and weaknesses of each team, as well as drivers.

F1 Insights will analyze a car in terms of its performance in low, medium and high speed corners as well as on the straights, and come up with a score out of 10 for each area. It will also rank those areas for all of the teams across the grid, so fans can see where certain teams hold an advantage.

There will also be a scale bar that shows a car’s handling performance, ranging from -10 signifying maximum understeer, to +10 suggesting maximum oversteer. On that scale, 0 is intended to represent a perfectly balanced car.

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The scores are generated from thousands of data points that are compared to both historical results and other cars on track to provide an updated score at the end of each lap.

In total there are six new insights that will eventually be introduced, although car performance scores are the only ones scheduled to be rolled out at the season-opener in Austria. There will then be an ultimate driver speed comparison added at the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone in August, followed by a high speed/low speed corner performance analysis in Belgium at the end of August.

Driver skills ratings, car and team development and overall season performance, and qualifying and race pace predictions are all scheduled to be released in the second half of the season.

The graphics have been created in partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS), which has also helped produce recent additions to the coverage that include corner exit speed, predicted pit stop strategy, the pit window, battle forecasts, pit strategy battles, and tire performance for recent seasons.

“Over the past two years, Formula 1 has embraced AWS’s services to perform intense and dynamic data analysis,” Formula 1 technical consultant Rob Smedley said. “The F1 Insights we’re delivering together are bringing fans closer to the track than ever before, and unlocking previously untold stories and insights from behind the pit wall.

“We’re excited to be expanding this successful relationship to bring even more insights to life, allowing fans to go deeper into the many ways that drivers and racing teams work together to affect success.”