Atlas F1 1999 SuperStats

  Post-European GP Edition. Compilation by Rory Gordon, Australia

The Superstats is an on-going project that attempts to classify various performances throughout an F1 season by, generally, averaging each race's performance, in several categories, over the entire season.

Conceived as the SuperGrid by the late John Taylor for Autocourse, I started my own compilations when Taylor died. Originally, the SuperStats - as the project was to become - was developed purely for my own interest. This has not changed, and the day I get bored with the SuperStats, they will stop.

All figures used in the SuperStats are based on the official FIA timing sheets and, where necessary, those sheets are deemed to be the final authority.


It's approaching the end of the season but, to look at most of the SuperStats, the figures have remained fairly consistent since early in the season.

One particular category changed in quite dramatically after the last race, the European GP. In this edition of the SuperStats, we look at the race leaders after 891 laps and 4,239.053 kilometres.

In the tables that follow, the figures under "%'age To Date" relate to the laps led so far this season.

It is worth pointing out that the FIA deems that a driver has led for an entire lap if that driver is the first to cross the finish line at the end of that lap, regardless of how many drivers have actually led during that lap.

DRIVERS

The European GP caused little change among the drivers who have led the most laps, with Hakkinen, Michael Schumacher and Coulthard easily the top three.

What was of interest was the "arrival" in the table of three new drivers, Fisichella, Herbert and Ralf Schumacher, increasing the size of the table by over a third. Good to see.

Driver            Laps     Kms Led       percent
                  Led                    To Date
-------------     ----     ---------     -------
Hakkinen          333      1,588.168     37.374%
Schumacher, M     156        617.907     17.508%
Coulthard         144        777.486     16.162%
Irvine             95        501.387     10.662%
Barrichello        67        285.716      7.520%
Frentzen           64        318.532      7.183%
Herbert            17         77.452      1.908%
Schumacher, R       8         36.448      0.898%
Fisichella          4         18.224      0.449%
Salo                2         12.593      0.224%
Hill                1          5.140      0.112%

THE NATIONS

For this table, the drivers' nationality has been used as the basis. Only really the British seem to have the ability to "share" laps among themselves - or, to look at it another way, there are too many Britons among the top drivers.

Country     Laps     Kms Led       percent
            Led                    To Date
-------     ----     ---------     -------
Finland     335      1,600.761     37.598%
Britain     257      1,361.465     28.844%
Germany     228        972.887     25.589%
Brazil       67        285.716      7.520%
Italy         4         18.224      0.449%

TEAMS

With the top four leaders among the drivers coming from McLaren and Ferrari, it is little surprise that those two teams are dominating in this category.

Team         Laps     Kms Led       percent
             Led                    To Date
--------     ----     ---------     -------
McLaren      477      2,365.654     53.535%
Ferrari      253      1,131.887     28.395%
Stewart       84        363.168      9.428%
Jordan        65        323.672      7.295%
Williams       8         36.448      0.898%
Benetton       4         18.224      0.449%


The raw data are copyright © 1999 F?d?ration de l'Automobile (2 Chemin Blandonnet, 1215 Geneva 15, Switzerland). These compilations are copyright © 1999 Rory Gordon. Reproduction in any form of these compilations is forbidden without the express permission of the compiler.

The data are subject to revision. The compiler will not be held responsible for any errors or omissions.

For any comments, please contact the compiler.

Rory Gordon
Send comments to: gordon@atlasf1.com