The third in a series of five, this article assesses how well-prepared the various Formula One teams were when they showed up to race in Germany, Hungary, Belgium, and Italy, and how well the teams set-up their cars after their arrival at these Grand Prix venues (for Parts 1 and 2, see vol. 1, nos. 5 and 9). As a reminder to those of you who have been following this series, and as an introduction to first-time readers, this is an evaluation of each team's factory and pit crew. The premise is that each factory is charged with delivering two race, and the traveling mechanics are charged with improving them for the particular track conditions.
The methodology is actually very simple. In order to determine how well each factory did its job, relative to its competitors, the teams were ranked on the basis of the average position in which they finished the opening practice session of each race. To illustrate, at the German Grand Prix the Saubers finished the session 8th and 9th for an average of 8.5, which was fourth best. In Italy, they completed Friday morning practice 8th and 22nd for an average of 15, which was seventh best. To arrive at the quarterly rankings, the average positions of each team for the four initial practice rounds were averaged.
To determine how well the traveling mechanics did their job, the the starting grid positions of each team's cars were averaged, ranked, and the differences from the initial practice sessions were calculated. For instance, at Hungary the Ligier cars finished opening practice with an average position of 10, which was sixth best of the teams. They started the race with an average position of 8, which was fourth best. Clearly, the pit crew contributed to the team gaining two postions on the starting grid. Things were, however, different a few weeks later in Belgium. For that event the Ligier's finished Friday morning with an average position of 8, which was fifth best among the teams. When they went to bed Saturday night, the average position of the Ligier's on the starting grid was 11, or sixth best. Here, the on-site mechanics didn't do there job as well as before, and as well as more than half the teams. As with the practice rounds, the teams' starting grid positions for the four races were averaged and ranked, and the differences from the practice sessions computed and ranked.
Here is how well the factories did their job.
1. Ferrari, 4.25 (avg. pos.); 2. Williams, 4.5; 3. Benetton, 6.75; 4. Jordan, 9.25;
5. McLaren, 11.25; 6. Sauber, 11.375; 7. Ligier, 11.625; 8. Minardi, 13.75;
9. Tyrrell, 14.75; 10. Arrows, 18.75; 11. Forti, 21.125; 12. Pacific, 22.625.
There are no big surprises here, are there? But, these figures are
strikingly different from the first and second quarter figures. Williams slipped from first to second,
and Ferrari moved into first, up from fourth last quarter. The Sauber factory is showing
improvement, while Tyrrell and Arrows are losing ground. The Forti factory is back to its beginning of
the year superiority over Pacific, which showed some improvement in the second quarter.To understand how well the pit mechanics did their job we first need to see the composite average starting grid for the quarter. It is as follows.
1. Williams, 3.125 (avg. pos.); 2. Ferrari, 4.375; 3. Benetton, 6.375; 4. McLaren,
7.25; 5. Jordan, 9.5; 6. Ligier, 11.5; 7. Sauber, 12.75; 8. Tyrrell, 15.25; 9.
Minardi, 16.75; 10. Arrows, 18.125; 11. Pacific, 22.0; 12. Forti, 22.250.
Again, no surprises. However, teams improving over their second quarter
figures include Ferrari, McLaren, Sauber, and Minardi. Teams that actually lost ground
include Benetton, and Jordan.As for the four-race composite differences between initial practice session and starting grid positions, or the true indicator of pit crew performance, it looks like the following.
1. McLaren, +4.0 (avg. pos. changed); 2. Williams, +1.375; 3. Ligier, +1.25;
4. Arrows, +.625; 5. Pacific, +.625; 6. Benetton, +.375; 7. Ferrari, -.125;
8. Jordan, -.250; 9. Tyrrell, -.50; 10. Forti, -1.125; 11. Sauber, -1.375;
12. Minardi, -3.0.
Something big is clearly going on in the garages. As the season takes on
even more shape, the mechanics seem to be doing an increasing amount of tinkering. In some cases
their efforts are paying handsome dividends. In others...well, what's the old saying? "If
something ain't broke, don't fix it." Eddie Jordan must be pulling his hair out. Here is a guy
whose pit crew distinguished itself as the best in Formula One for the first half of the
season. Now they are in 8th place. And, didn't I tell you before that Ron Dennis was hard at work.
Although his wheels seemed to have fallen off at the mid-season point, he clearly found a
new lug wrench and secured things as only he can He took his formerly lackluster paddock
pals and whipped them into shape, and up from 6th to 1st. It also looks like Tom Walkinshaw
is doing likewise at Ligier. I, for one, look for good things from this team in the future.Well, that's about it for now. I'll keep tracking the progress of the factories and the garages for the final five races and file a report in the Australian issue. I'll give a season overview in our offseason issue.