ATLAS F1   Volume 7, Issue 16
  Qualifying Differentials
  by Marcel Borsboom, Netherlands

For the fourth year running, 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 four qualifying sessions completed for 2001, the differentials are on a roll! Let's see which drivers deserve bragging rights.

San Marino Notables

  • Setting the records straight. San Marino was the best qualifying result of Fernando Alonso; while Enrique Bernoldi and Kimi Raikkonen equalled their best grid position.

  • The Schumacher Bros. The two mark a clear watershed in the overall averages between teammates -- Ralf Schumacher at the bottom of four pairs of teammates whose average difference is around or more than a second; and Michael Schumacher at the top of seven pairs whose average difference is small to minuscule. And by the way, the two brothers, along with Jean Alesi and Eddie Irvine, are the only ones to have outqualified their teammates in all qualifying sessions so far this season.

  • Changes since Brazil: BAR's Olivier Panis has moved ahead of teammate Jacques Villeneuve, as did Jarno Trulli of Jordan, who moved ahead of teammate Heinz-Harald Frentzen. 

San Marino Differentials              Average San Marino Differentials  
------------------------              --------------------------------  
Slower        Diff.   Faster          Slower        Diff.   Faster      
Mazzacane   > 2.339 > Alesi           Mazzacane   > 1.976 > Alesi       
Marques     > 1.426 > Alonso          Marques     > 1.354 > Alonso      
Button      > 0.856 > Fisichella      Burti       > 1.089 > Irvine      
Montoya     > 0.784 > R.Schumacher    Montoya     > 0.862 > R.Schumacher
Frentzen    > 0.778 > Trulli          Barrichello > 0.358 > M.Schumacher
Villeneuve  > 0.556 > Panis           Raikkonen   > 0.324 > Heidfeld    
Heidfeld    > 0.336 > Raikkonen       Button      > 0.303 > Fisichella  
Hakkinen    > 0.228 > Coulthard       Coulthard   > 0.251 > Hakkinen    
Barrichello > 0.193 > M.Schumacher    Bernoldi    > 0.175 > Verstappen  
Verstappen  > 0.190 > Bernoldi        Frentzen    > 0.153 > Trulli      
Burti       > 0.180 > Irvine          Villeneuve  > 0.108 > Panis

The average gap between teammates in San Marino was 0.715s - quite a lot when compared to Brazil, where the average gap was a mere 0.25s.

Marcel Borsboom© 2007 autosport.com
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