Thread by @DrivenByData_

Analysis of Launch RPM for Drivers and Teams in the 2021 Formula 1 World Championship

The dataset consists of 345 starts from the 2021 season, recording the engine RPM prior to launching off the line.

From this data, we get an impression of the strategies employed by the teams in the hopes of optimizing the performance of their car once the lights go out.

The horizontal bars indicate median per driver/team, while the circles are recorded values for each of the 22 Grand Prix. The leftmost column shows the engine manufacturer.

Interesting takeaways:
- Mercedes, and especially Hamilton, are far and away the most "aggresive" on RPM target for launches.
- Hamilton's launch RPM is, on average, more than 2.000 RPM lower than that of Max Verstappen, whom he shared the front row with for most of the season.

- Williams, Alfa Romeo and McLaren sit at around 10.000 RPM.
- The two Honda-supplied teams of, Alpine, Haas and Aston Martin, employ the highest RPM target for launches, apparently 11.000 RPM on most days.

Disclaimer

The integrity of the data cannot be guaranteed. The GPS-speed that is used to determine when the car has effectively "launched", suffers from a **very** low sample-rate.

This could taint the data somewhat, although the effect is reduced by using the average RPM of the last three samples prior to launching.

Data obtained using [FastF1](github.com/theOehrly/Fast…).

#F1 #Formula1 #Season2021 #DrivenByData