ATLAS F1   Volume 6, Issue 41
		Qualifying Differentials

	by Marcel Borsboom, Netherlands

Atlas F1 is going to keep an eye on the battle between teammates throughout the season with a simple measurement: we compare the qualifying times of each driver against his teammate's result. After every Grand Prix, we will show how teammates have fared up against each other, and where they are overall since the beginning of the season. At the end of the season, the World Champion of Qualifying Differentials will be elected - the driver who was most beaten by his teammates, in seconds. Only those who participate in at least 15 of the 17 rounds are eligible for the coveted crown; and for those who made the efforts and participated in all 17 races, the best and worst result will be scrapped. With sixteen qualifying sessions completed for 2000, the differentials are on a roll! Let's see which drivers deserve bragging rights. Japan Notables Diniz. Sauber's Pedro Diniz came under fire at Japan, when he continued driving to the pits with a blown engine, spilling oil all over the track, during the Saturday free practice. A few drivers were caught out by the slippery asphalt and spun, as a consequence. Diniz, in turn, was to have his two best times in qualifying taken off as punishment. And yet, albeit serving that penalty, Diniz managed to qualify less than a tenth of a second behind teammate Mika Salo; quite a remarkable achievement for a driver that everyone so much loves to bash. Verstappen/Frentzen/Coulthard. With only one more round left to the 2000 Qualifying Differentials Championship season, only three drivers have a chance remaining to improve their position and more from the "slower" to the "faster" side of the table: Heinz Harald Frentzen has only five thousandths of a second separating him on average from Jordan teammate Jarno Trulli; David Coulthard has but 43 thousandths from McLaren teammate Mika Hakkinen, and Jos Verstappen is but 98 thousandths of a second behind Arrows teammate de la Rosa. Expect a battle to the end at Malaysia! The average gap between teammates in Japan was 0.339 - it would have been far smaller, if it wasn't for the huge gap between the BAR drivers. However, the gap was nonetheless small, continuing the trend we've seen in previous races: 0.290 in the US Grand Prix and 0.341 in Italy. In contrast, the gap was 0.561 in Belgium; 0.584 in Hungary; 1.072 in Germany; 0.288 in Austria; 0.400 in France; 0.449 in Canada; 0.486 in Monaco; 0.546s in Europe; 0.48s in Spain; 0.725s in Britain; 0.654s in San Marino; 0.455s in Brazil; and 0.874s in Australia.

Japanese Differentials                Total Averages through Japan       
------------------------------        ------------------------------     
Slower         Diff.   Faster         Slower         Diff.   Faster      
Zonta        > 1.002 > Villeneuve     Zonta        > 0.677 > Villeneuve  
Barrichello  > 0.505 > M.Schumacher   Barrichello  > 0.482 > M.Schumacher
Mazzacane    > 0.490 > Gene           Herbert      > 0.474 > Irvine      
Trulli       > 0.436 > Frentzen       Mazzacane    > 0.436 > Gene        
Herbert      > 0.430 > Irvine         Button       > 0.378 > R.Schumacher
Coulthard    > 0.402 > Hakkinen       Wurz         > 0.330 > Fisichella  
R.Schumacher > 0.160 > Button         Heidfeld     > 0.274 > Alesi       
Fisichella   > 0.131 > Wurz           Diniz        > 0.167 > Salo        
Alesi        > 0.068 > Heidfeld       Verstappen   > 0.098 > de la Rosa  
Diniz        > 0.086 > Salo           Coulthard    > 0.043 > Hakkinen    
Verstappen   > 0.022 > de la Rosa     Frentzen     > 0.005 > Trulli      

Marcel Borsboom	© 2000 Kaizar.Com, Incorporated.
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