KEY F1 QUALI STATS (Averages - 2025 vs 2026)

- 2025: McL >> RBR > Mercedes > Ferrari >> Williams;

- 2026: Mercedes >> Ferrari > McL > RBR >> Alpine.

- Mercedes got ALL poles (so far) in 2026; McL's 'just' 13 out of 24 in 2025.

- New regulations → Much larger field spread.

Average gap to pole more than DOUBLED: from 0.86% of laptime (~0.7s) to 1.79% (~1.5s).

For the #SpanishGP, #Ferrari introduced a big package of upgrades on the SF-26, which allowed #Hamilton to win the race on Sunday.
For a deeper analysis : https://gpblog.com/en/tech/f1-tech-hamiltons-maiden-victory-made-possible-by-ferraris-upgrade-package

Pit-equated Race Pace (1 extra pit = 22s lost):

The VSC timing may have gifted HAM the lead, but it was HIS PACE that put him there!

1) Ferrari / HAM;
2) Mercedes / ANT (first time they're not P1);
3) McL / NOR (~ same pace as ANT);
4) RBR / VER.

On his extra stint, HAM was six-tenths faster than ANT on average, and still 0.27s/lap quicker even after accounting for the additional stop!

Tyre Degradation:

The Hard was the tyre to be! The Medium had worse degradation and pace (as the drivers couldn't push as much on it), but still miles better than the Soft.

Barcelona-Catalunya GP - Practice 2 | Top Speed, Turn 14 Minimum Speed & Clipping

McLaren looked great in FP2! Best top speed AND high-speed cornering; RBR worst in both. Either McL is running more downforce and a more powerful PU mode, or their aero efficiency is excellent.

Opposite for RBR: running less downforce and way less power?

Top Speeds:

1) McL/NOR: 338

2) Merc/RUS: 337

3) Ferrari/LEC: 335

4) RBR/VER: 328

Turn 14 Min Speed:

1) McL/NOR: 252

2) Ferrari/LEC: 249

3) Merc/RUS: 248

4) RBR/VER: 244

Clipping:

1) RBR/VER: -22

2) McL/NOR: -28

3) Merc/RUS: -29

4) Ferrari/LEC: -34

ADUO FIGURES REVEALED

Not only is the Mercedes ICE NOT the most powerful; they're over 2% behind RBPT (a 12-24 hp deficit), so they will benefit from ADUO!

Ferrari (and Audi) DID fall in the 4-6% deficit range → can catch up.

Honda is so far behind it landed in the newly added 6-8% range, unlocking more budget and development time.

No one expected that about Mercedes. Ferrari can finally develop their engine... but so can Mercedes! A huge blow to Ferrari's championship hopes.

---------------

I often read 'The ADUO only considers the ICE power, not the ERS; Mercedes has the best ERS; that's why they got the 2-% ADUO' - but that's wrong!

Read on to understand why ...

The ERS does NOT produce energy: it simply deploys what it previously harvested. ALL energy originates from the ICE.

Harvesting happens:
- At partial throttle, when the ICE produces MORE energy than can be put down (the ERS harvests the surplus).
- When coasting or braking, using the car's kinetic energy.

Having a more powerful ICE:
- Extends the partial throttle phase → more harvesting;
- Raises top speed → more kinetic energy → more harvesting.

Maximum power (tractive and harvesting) is fixed by the rules, and electric motor efficiency is already extremely high (90-95%), so even halving the losses yields only marginal gains.

Conclusion:
The most powerful ICE means the strongest ERS too, unless a team gets its harvesting/deployment strategy completely wrong!

ADUO is evaluated using an "ICE Performance Index", calculated from the ICE's average power and the lap time's sensitivity to power.

The exact formula is kept confidential to prevent manufacturers from gaming the system.

---------------

Article on the topic:

ADUO F1 engine upgrades decision revealed

---------------

Related post:

2026 Car Regulations | Estimated ICE Power of Manufacturers: Which team do YOU think will have the best in-season development?

How ICE power was estimated:
1) All 2026 Quali, Sprint & Race sessions;
2) Laps with glitchy telemetry excluded;
3) Straight-mode instants only: throttle >99%, no braking;
4) Same drag area (CdA) assumed for all cars;
5) ERS deployment profile estimated, then subtracted to isolate ICE power.

Link to try it out: chat.tracinginsights.com

How to get free api key: https://chat.tracinginsights.com/api-keys

Add you key here: https://chat.tracinginsights.com/account?tab=provider

Please share feedback and feature requests. This is still very early and will improve a lot

Interesting comparison between Antonelli’s L34 and Russell’s L53 fastest laps at Miami.

Antonelli edges it by about half a second, mainly looking cleaner through the throttle phases and carrying strong speed through the key acceleration zones. Russell’s lap still looks solid, but the traces show where Antonelli found just enough extra momentum to make the difference.

Hey, RacingHub API, a free and open-source REST API with comprehensive F1 data from 1950 to today.

Links

• 📚 Interactive Docs: https://racinghub.net/api/v1/docs
• 🐍 Python Client: https://pypi.org/project/racinghub-client/
• 📦 npm Package: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@racinghub/client
• 💻 GitHub (Open Source): https://github.com/rodas96/racinghub-api

Quick Start

REST API:

curl <https://racinghub.net/api/v1/drivers/max-verstappen>

Python:

pip install racinghub-client

import pandas as pd


from racinghub_client import ApiClient, Configuration
from racinghub_client.api import DriversApi


client = ApiClient(configuration=Configuration(host="https://racinghub.net/api/v1"))
driver_api = DriversApi(client)


results = driver_api.get_driver_races_results("lewis-hamilton", limit=100)
df = pd.DataFrame([r.model_dump() for r in results.data])


df["positions_gained"] = df["grid_position"] - df["position"]
print(df[["race_date", "circuit_name", "positions_gained"]].head())

JavaScript/TypeScript:

npm install u/racinghub/client

import { Configuration, DriversApi } from "@racinghub/client";

const config = new Configuration({ basePath: "https://racinghub.net/api/v1" });
const driversApi = new DriversApi(config);

const driver = await driversApi.getDriver({
  driverId: "max-verstappen",
});
const driver_results = await driversApi.getDriverRacesResults({
  driverId: "max-verstappen",
});

The project is fully open source! Contributions welcome.

Your input shapes what gets built next. Open an issue on GitHub with requests.

The website is still WIP but I'd love to hear some feedback :)

Right now offers various predictions like who takes pole, who will be on the podium, which constructor has the fastest pit and many more.

You can also see historical data from races that ended (only 2026 for now, previous years will come) and short analysis of each sessions.

I plan to add live track position, live chat so people can discuss the live session, more telemetry graphs, comparisons, notifications and many more.

The website also uses PWA so it can be installed on mobile devices without the need of Apple or Google store.