2020 F1 Results
Andrew Amore
F1 is a truly unique sport, combining the marvels of modern engineering with the highest reflex-demanding skillsets in the world. However, many people might not realize the resource disparities which exist within the elite racing world. These financial differences determine which teams/drivers win races and compete for seasonal titles more than any other sport. Just how lopsided is the lack of parity in terms of seasonal F1 points (determined by final race position)? Data complied from a racing web API was used to find out. JSON web data, modeled using a dplyr pipeline, and plotted in R illuminates the discrepancies through the 2020 F1 season.
| Race | Round | Date | Driver | Team | Race Finish | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Styrian Grand Prix | 2 | 2020-07-12 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 2 | 18 |
| Spanish Grand Prix | 6 | 2020-08-16 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 3 | 16 |
| Sakhir Grand Prix | 16 | 2020-12-06 | Jack Aitken | Williams | 16 | 0 |
| Sakhir Grand Prix | 16 | 2020-12-06 | Carlos Sainz | McLaren | 4 | 12 |
| Bahrain Grand Prix | 15 | 2020-11-29 | Romain Grosjean | Haas F1 Team | NA | 0 |
Spiral Team Chart (A):
Team performance through each race is displayed using a circular bar plot. Race abbreviations, denoted along the outside edge, start from 1:00 and move clockwise around the circle in order of race occurrence. Points for each driver are aggregated by team, cumulatively summed over the season, and shown by color. This chart clearly shows the dominance by team Mercedes over the season as the color largest block in each race is affiliated with this team. We see this percentage remain relatively constant from the first few races of the season all the way to the finale.
Spiral Driver Chart (B):
Point disparities amongst drivers and teams are most magnified at season end. To show this lopsided distribution a spiral bar chart was created. Drivers are grouped by constructor and colored according to their affiliation. From this chart one can observe just how dominant Lewis Hamilton (and team Mercedes) really was. Hamilton has almost twice as many points as the next closest opposing driver. This chart also shows the large number of drivers with 0 points, evident by the missing axis tick marks denoting point totals.