How has each Formula 1 team fared in terms of pure performance in 2019? Motorsport Week crunches the numbers to find out, analyses who's gained and who's lost, and takes a look at some trends.
Analysing the pure pace of a Formula 1 car is an imperfect science. The quickest laps typically take place in Q3, though there are always nuances: an engine blip here, an edgy lap there, or a set-up issue causing problems. Nevertheless, there is sufficient data to draw analysis and evaluate how each team has fared season-on-season, and where they stand at the mid-point of 2019.
In order to form an assessment of the pure pace of each Formula 1 car Motorsport Week took the best lap time posted during qualifying by the team’s quickest driver – whether in Q1, Q2 or Q3 – and weighed it against the pole position time to create a percentage. For example, the quickest car at each event is marked as 100.000% and every millisecond of lap time is converted into a relative percentage. That is then averaged out across the opening 12 events of the season (or 11 in the case of 2018, for Hungary’s wet session has been excluded), to see both the current pecking order and how it has changed since the corresponding point 12 months ago. For example, if an ideal 2019 lap time was 1:40.000 (100 seconds, for the sake of numerical simplicity), then Mercedes would set a 1:40.092, Ferrari a 1:40.489, and so on.
2019 qualifying data:
| Position | Team | 2019 points | 2018 average (%) | 2019 average (%) | Change |
| 1 | Mercedes | 438 (1) | 100.178 | 100.092 | -0.086% |
| 2 | Ferrari | 288 (2) | 100.210 | 100.489 | +0.279% |
| 3 | Red Bull | 244 (3) | 100.655 | 100.747 | +0.092% |
| 4 | McLaren | 82 (4) | 102.701 | 101.741 | -0.960% |
| 5 | Haas | 26 (9) | 101.933 | 101.807 | -0.126% |
| 6 | Renault | 39 (6) | 102.025 | 101.929 | -0.096% |
| 7 | Alfa Romeo | 32 (7) | 102.945 | 102.043 | -0.902% |
| 8 | Toro Rosso | 43 (5) | 102.830 | 102.105 | -0.725% |
| 9 | Racing Point | 31 (8) | 102.265 | 102.445 | +0.180% |
| 10 | Williams | 1 (10) | 103.532 | 104.373 | +0.841% |
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Mercedes 100.092 (Mid-point 2018: 100.178, 0.086% closer to ideal)
Reigning World Champions Mercedes held the fastest package at the mid-point of 2018 and it does so again in 2019, but it has moved closer to the theoretical best, at a staggering 100.092. It has only missed out on pole position this year on four occasions and its largest relative deficit to top spot came in Austria, at 100.411, and even then Lewis Hamilton still qualified second to Charles Leclerc, before being relegated due to a grid penalty.
Ferrari 100.489 (2018: 100.210, 0.279% further)
Ferrari went tooth-and-nail with Mercedes in the first half of 2018, before dropping off, and its title ambitions have again gone unrealised in 2019. It has taken three pole positions but at the majority of events its one-lap pace has been substantially slower compared to last season. Its deficits have been most pronounced at high-downforce circuits with slow- and medium-speed corners: its 101.148 in Spain, for example, was further away than McLaren were to pole in Bahrain.
Red Bull 100.747 (2018: 100.655, 0.092% further)
On face value it is a minor regression for Red Bull, but there are multiple reasons why the figure is positive: it is in year one with Honda, its recent progress has been upwards, and Pierre Gasly’s struggles mean the figures are dependent on Max Verstappen. Whereas last year Red Bull was at 101.125, 100.827 and 100.857 in Austria, Britain and Germany, this year it was at 100.692, 100.215 and 100.482, before taking pole position in Hungary. After being firmly third-best during the early 2019 races it has thrust itself into contention of late.
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McLaren 101.741 (2018: 102.701, 0.960% closer)
One of the good news stories of 2019 has been the revitalising of a McLaren team that disappeared into obscurity through 2018. It has made the biggest strides of any team on the grid, and its recent gains mean that on average it now has the fourth-fastest car, jumping Haas and Renault. Considering it has a rookie in one car and a new recruit in the other, compared to Fernando Alonso in 2018, this surely acts as another feather in the cap for the team. It can also be buoyed by its points tally; it only just has the fourth-best car but it holds a comfortable fourth spot in the standings, proving it is good on Saturday but great on Sunday.
Haas 101.807 (2018: 101.933, 0.126% closer)
Mixed. Haas was fourth-best overall in 2018, holds fifth this year (just a fraction behind McLaren) and has still made gains, despite having a smaller improvement window compared to its midfield rivals. The downside is that Haas holds only ninth position in the Constructors’ standings owing to its confusion at how best to extract the VF-19’s potential in race trim, to the extent that its drivers are now running completely different specifications. The car has one-lap pace but that has not been converted into points. That is of huge frustration to a team with the smallest headcount.
Renault 101.929 (2018: 102.025, 0.096% closer)
Renault is another team to have made incremental gains compared to 2018, which is not ideal considering the squad’s pre-season aim was to close the gap to the top three. One other concern is that its progress has not been hugely notable through the course of the campaign. It has flip-flopped and its biggest deficit to pole, at 102.637, came at the most recent event in Hungary. Its closest was a 101.183 in Canada, which more and more looks the anomaly rather than the catalyst for a surge forward. The R.S.19 is unlikely to be fondly remembered, with Nico Hulkenberg commenting last weekend that "serious questions" need to be asked internally at its path over the last 18 months.
Alfa Romeo 102.043 (2018: 102.945, 0.902% closer)
The second-biggest improver after McLaren; the rebranded Alfa Romeo squad has picked up where Sauber left off at the end of 2018 and has firmly established itself in the midfield group. After a dip across Spain/Monaco/Canada, where it fell to a season-worst 103.159, the update package introduced in France has drawn Alfa Romeo closer to the front of the midfield. Kimi Raikkonen’s outstanding lap in Germany left the team at 101.074, its best performance for years.
Toro Rosso 102.105 (2018: 102.830, 0.725% closer)
Toro Rosso’s second year with Honda has been far smoother, and although it has only the eighth-fastest car on pure pace it is within half a percent of McLaren. Most of the midfield has bunched together while year-on-year that group has crept closer to the front-runners, albeit still some way off, as the natural evolution of a regulatory cycle strings teams towards each other. It may have only the eighth-fastest car but its Hockenheim points bonanza has facilitated Toro Rosso’s current classification of fifth in the standings. It will do well to hold off Renault, and potentially Alfa Romeo, after the break.
Racing Point 102.445 (2018: 102.265, 0.180% further)
Racing Point has paid the price for its mid-2018 takeover, with the RP19 basic at launch, and its upgrade packages arriving later than its opponents. Another factor is the driver swap, with Lance Stroll not on the same level as Esteban Ocon in qualifying, meaning much of the data for 2019 has been taken from Sergio Perez’s car. The Perez/Racing Point combination typically thrived in Azerbaijan, recording a 101.093, but elsewhere it has largely been in the 102s, or sometimes 103s. It has regressed overall but the hope is that the three-stage update package, the first two parts of which have already been introduced, will yield dividends after the summer break.
Williams 104.373 (2018: 103.532, 0.841% further)
Williams was clinging to the back by the time the 2018 summer break arrived, as Sauber made gains, and 12 months later it has been anchored to the rear. At most races it, or rather lead driver George Russell, has been in the 104 per centile, reaching a nadir of 105.061 in France, and it has yet to escape Q1. Its gap to Racing Point is not far off Racing Point’s gap to Ferrari. It is chasmic. The ray of light is that three of its best four performances have been in the last quartet of races. It was at 103.168 at Silverstone and 103.297 at the Hungaroring, the latter event the first time all year it beat a rival, as updates brought to Hockenheim were better understood, assisted by further positive work with the tricky tyres.
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