2012 British Grand Prix lap chart

2012 British Grand Prix

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Fernando Alonso avoided using soft tyres until the end of the race in the hope that rain would arrive. It didn’t – and the gamble failed.

British Grand Prix lap chart

The positions of each driver on every lap. Use the control below to show/hide different drivers:

https://www.racefans.net/charts/2012drivercolours.csv

012345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546474849505152
Fernando Alonso11111111111111112221111111111111111111111111111122222
Mark Webber22222222222222244333332222222222224322222222222211111
Michael Schumacher33333333334531311109666665577877666666111010888888888777777
Sebastian Vettel45555555553151211876444443333333333555433333333333333333
Felipe Massa544444444453431098555554444444444332244444444444444444
Kimi Raikkonen67776666666654131111777776655555555443766555555555555555
Pastor Maldonado76667777777421212121212020201919191918171717171716161616161616161616161616161616161616161616
Lewis Hamilton88888888888865321112227766666121110999988777777777888888
Romain Grosjean91211222222212019181817151515131288888888871313131211101010877666666666666666
Paul di Resta1023
Nico Rosberg111515141414141414141413111096141213131313131313131312121113121111111099151515151515151515151515151515
Daniel Ricciardo1217171616161616151515141312121210141414141414141414141414141515151414141515141414141414141414141414131313
Bruno Senna139910101010101010109786141311111111111111111111101099141312121212121010101010101010101010101099
Nico Hulkenberg1411121111111111111111109755510101010101010101010998888886111199999999999991212
Sergio Perez151010999999997
Jenson Button16131413131313131313131210978713121212121212121212111110109141313131313111111111111111111111111111010
Kamui Kobayashi17141312121212121212121186433999999999988777777555121212121212121212121212121111
Vitaly Petrov18
Heikki Kovalainen19211917171717171717171816181717171717161616161616161616161617171717171717171717171717171717171717171717
Timo Glock20181818181818181819191917161616161616181818181817181818181818181818181818181818181818181818181818181818
Pedro de la Rosa211920191919191920202020181718181818181717171717191919192020202020202020202020202020202020202020202020
Narain Karthikeyan222021202020202121212121192019191921212121212121212121212121212121212121212121212121212121212121212121
Jean-Eric Vergne2316161515151515161616161414141515151515151515151515151515151413121515151414131313131313131313131313141414
Charles Pic24222221212122222222222220192020201919192020202020202020191919191919191919191919191919191919191919191919

Nico Hulkenberg slipped out of the points on the penultimate lap: “It was a tough race today, especially because my car was set up to favour wet conditions,” he said.

“That helped us yesterday, but hurt my top speed this afternoon. There were always cars around me in the race, especially in the final few laps when I had to defend from Bruno and Jenson, and I could not afford to make any mistakes.

“Unfortunately I locked up the rears going into turn three with two laps to go and that gave Bruno the chance to get ahead of me in the DRS zone.”

British Grand Prix race chart

The gaps between each driver on every lap. Use the control below to show/hide different drivers:

https://www.racefans.net/charts/2012drivercolours.csv

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546474849505152
Fernando Alonso0000000000000001.5640.9150.202000000000000000000000000000000.8981.3492.2052.5333.06
Mark Webber0.6040.6580.8530.8251.3591.811.9032.6623.0593.1494.0154.425.0734.06222.9716.6316.4735.6074.7565.1115.1775.0644.9044.8375.4795.6426.0985.865.6135.225.4675.523.38720.73120.1619.60521.1453.9374.443.9583.553.352.2251.3040.5550.4010.47200000
Michael Schumacher1.1971.3872.0212.5723.0724.2845.3666.1557.0937.96410.0038.59127.21227.71429.87515.1715.77515.34714.8315.28315.94116.28616.92519.36820.54521.48922.66823.35824.39325.59526.73728.07330.03329.93347.27146.74748.20831.73832.44932.42531.81731.53430.31329.16628.70227.95427.66727.9728.8229.27529.7429.153
Sebastian Vettel2.5982.4943.7523.7664.5655.3196.4057.3348.4236.97924.65824.16624.28224.526.95111.34311.01610.0328.8088.6968.7078.4098.3498.5228.9659.3359.2919.4089.7249.6097.94325.3124.90525.1925.06425.09327.1529.7519.869.449.3869.0348.1867.3016.4665.7255.1715.2045.4785.3535.7174.836
Felipe Massa1.7511.6993.3373.1453.6124.6445.8166.5087.5068.3259.3339.6748.24826.1127.91213.00512.88611.84110.67810.91110.96410.92510.96411.01511.94712.3712.18712.00312.0412.15912.75213.36914.19515.09613.52630.46331.69414.07413.94413.62312.88912.39511.9610.7739.9289.3288.5658.6928.8698.689.8149.519
Kimi Raikkonen3.7283.9384.4525.1415.6696.076.9867.9288.9549.74310.66411.80510.43529.02131.70716.53816.50316.07915.48316.11716.82317.15517.41217.06617.53417.90917.44916.80516.21216.73317.49317.85617.97716.45734.62334.00835.88218.63718.81418.117.30116.53515.07713.73312.50811.19310.37410.26610.069.49110.34810.314
Pastor Maldonado3.1813.3234.145.7816.6287.1897.5988.489.54610.6519.53967.93293.04792.46194.00378.59179.00778.57878.24979.51380.15280.51881.37783.44385.97486.97887.64287.9388.61189.65290.37191.49592.73793.66894.59798.708101.986.59788.90990.56492.35794.889100.477102.437106.889110.597114.305117.691122.075127.745133.659
Lewis Hamilton4.645.1925.4556.2847.338.1578.7499.33510.13211.16812.29912.73413.5413.73715.3660001.2512.3061.14817.54917.89218.36419.20619.76420.29718.2363636.24837.52338.4939.01139.8340.91941.40843.84127.37928.21628.47328.56529.02128.67828.0627.9227.43228.99430.16432.02133.38434.77736.463
Romain Grosjean7.4057.45532.39631.67131.8133.24633.97933.43434.2933.85334.96135.05334.97634.59236.09420.89420.87720.10519.39819.820.24820.57520.92821.46422.43721.05737.8336.77136.70736.91638.16639.2639.61940.40139.83139.21740.41522.76222.44121.63920.6120.1218.92617.67116.91515.91615.33815.75116.07215.72615.57217.101
Paul di Resta
53.136
Nico Rosberg8.43511.19512.41113.23814.91916.23617.15318.26219.55920.49621.81422.80823.90725.63426.72829.14229.89830.25729.8930.76331.25431.49832.0432.34533.20733.8234.13934.69235.41437.54239.49340.34841.09141.84342.83943.73344.6454.21454.25554.52354.22254.59654.13453.79553.74453.48753.71154.25855.07455.75156.8957.394
Daniel Ricciardo9.1712.31613.54214.71416.29118.03619.82721.46222.3122.98623.92225.77326.86528.76832.76316.4934.89134.08533.19133.8534.40734.91936.02636.93238.35839.27540.31340.93139.75258.88759.75660.55361.22261.94762.39364.39666.9652.16953.1453.41553.31553.37152.82152.03251.19350.37449.84650.18550.69951.07251.51451.241
Bruno Senna5.66.07677.7769.16710.20210.98111.2611.76612.75813.99914.46921.0122.58742.28226.51627.50926.73526.1626.55727.13627.53727.90128.77929.730.39530.91631.2831.91531.05649.82649.82449.51449.75150.57851.67153.03436.12136.77737.15437.39938.19438.30538.4638.4838.32838.40138.83940.26841.71643.16243.347
Nico Hulkenberg6.817.9028.6439.61110.93612.17312.84513.98714.91115.80716.98719.24820.72321.95724.6878.01526.61725.7625.10225.71526.31926.71527.01427.43328.46429.02529.21729.40129.56430.09131.15232.04133.18834.40933.60450.7451.98235.16236.13436.42136.70237.65137.67937.73337.82537.53637.58138.26639.68641.10246.38147.856
Sergio Perez6.4556.4155.946.6887.8148.6929.3449.85510.51512.03211.108
Jenson Button7.69510.44311.4512.26613.82615.04715.86717.00117.93318.75519.96921.03922.30423.85627.46112.55530.26628.96527.74228.00928.2428.83529.6830.38831.41532.00532.56533.22634.44935.97737.02253.40852.97552.68752.66152.61654.35837.65338.20638.12237.89838.6838.80438.90439.14738.80238.85739.55340.9342.42544.13644.444
Kamui Kobayashi8.0849.8210.55810.95212.0113.00813.63914.55815.70316.45517.50718.36419.55820.2422.245.76624.61923.52122.25522.47622.47222.59523.01623.07823.70124.38324.81424.77626.6727.11527.86828.71830.19732.7432.64932.69532.56446.30646.01745.87845.62445.6744.51843.56142.81542.18641.86141.91442.53543.20844.78345.37
Vitaly Petrov
Heikki Kovalainen11.19714.03915.74218.05120.49623.70125.84128.1530.3932.30835.50637.60157.66758.70261.70847.74449.35150.54251.63353.78655.28157.37559.74162.13964.39466.50968.55770.10270.03590.9292.83595.32399.352102.555104.843106.556109.86794.8899.044102.857106.792110.356113.538117.063118.914120.648122.714128.633132.368136.262142.992
Timo Glock9.96613.35117.31820.04823.29426.44528.86931.77335.36738.41841.21345.92949.08951.87156.21843.79947.19447.22767.11169.44172.13375.37880.04883.16487.44890.74493.20395.7399.88103.65106.903109.834114.088118.266121.108124.963131.087115.566137.847139.649142.956145.016147.595151.351153.047154.269156.05158.174161.124163.316167.254
Pedro de la Rosa10.59115.04218.67922.18826.25230.07233.01736.59239.98443.25746.72851.85555.36960.69665.98554.08557.64360.00562.98166.90170.96474.87279.65885.48691.05697.572100.898125.4129.664132.756138.736142.289145.711151.119155.008159.297166.846155.133159.59163.361167.071170.609173.673176.5179.63183.048186.721193.248200.221206.484
Narain Karthikeyan10.90216.78520.68124.47828.19332.99937.2440.62244.14747.34951.26855.45359.80363.88269.75656.08782.25385.51491.83595.0699.025102.034107.484111.846116.554123.259126.512135.044138.947143.756149.734154.07157.724163.746165.416189.209193.742179.913183.008185.029187.718189.994192.099196.383199.509203.658207.581210.979215.929219.038
Jean-Eric Vergne8.84811.82712.8913.98515.78917.50519.38222.33123.84725.0426.82328.46730.11930.49951.14835.6836.19936.09736.09437.44338.31839.07339.89840.54741.73342.60343.11243.43543.93844.31245.89144.81863.45563.2263.11463.07265.05648.59150.3950.52450.31350.52950.36550.02849.72249.05748.82549.13849.71852.0915353.313
Charles Pic11.69617.30921.40524.8828.83133.98237.86141.32744.83648.13551.78556.2758.27378.90582.92270.21173.41675.48977.60281.50584.57487.36490.36893.19996.709101.045104.806108.782112.835116.764119.971122.138143.178148.283152.864155.719161.211148.614154.195157.221160.764164.074166.479168.477170.591172.401174.633177.647181.19183.968187.679

When Hamilton took the lead of the race at the end of his first stint it looked as though he was on course to gain some places. But McLaren seemed to leave him out longer than was reasonable, even as he began to lose time to the cars he was trying to get in front of.

The reason for that became clear in his final stint, which was also on the hard tyres: McLaren simply weren’t making the rubber last as long as their rivals. This serves to reinforce the fact that there is no strategic solution for a car that isn’t quick enough.

This was true to a much lesser extent of Alonso’s pace on the soft compounds. Ferrari realised during the hour of dry practice on Saturday morning their car was less competitive on the yellow tyres.

That led Ferrari to start on the hard tyres in the hope that rain would arrive and keep them from having to use the softs as Alonso explained: “We felt more confident on the hards so it was our preferred choice today

“And then, if at any point of the race it had rained and we put on intermediates you didn’t have to use the softs any more so it was a better combination of possibilities that the hard gave us today.”

Curiously, Massa did not follow this strategy. Running the soft tyre at the end left Alonso vulnerable to Webber, who initially thought the Ferrari driver was toying with him: “Fernando was not quite out of touch and after the last stop, my engineer Ciaron came on the radio saying that Fernando was not doing much on the [soft] tyres.

“But I know Fernando is a wily old fox, I thought he was looking after the tyres and just waiting to pull the pin and go a little bit. But when I got within two seconds I thought maybe he’s in a little bit of trouble and it was real.”

Would Alonso have won had he run longer on the hard tyres? He said in the press conference afterwards it might have been a possibility in the first stint.

The race chart above does suggest he could have stayed out a lap or two longer and still come out in front of Webber. However it’s possible Ferrari did not anticipate Webber would emerge from the pits behind Kobayashi when they committed to Alonso’s first stop.

2012 British Grand Prix

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Image © Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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10 comments on “2012 British Grand Prix lap chart”

  1. Looking at Maldonado’s pace during the last 15 laps or so, I wonder: did he have a problem or so or did he really just gave up? If so, then that would be the first time a driver has ever given up during a GP as far as I know.

    1. @andae23, he did a 39-lap stint on the hards.

      1. Still strange that they decided to stick with the hard tyres, even though he already was 3 seconds off the pace 15 laps from the end. Why didn’t he then make a pitstop?

        1. Very good point. I guess they were trying to win back the time from his extra pit stop, but it was clearly not working, and they should have put him on new tyres to at least enable him to do some good laps.

    2. --- (@brazil2007)
      9th July 2012, 17:05

      Actually, other drivers have given up, and in a much more dramatic fashion. In the 1999 Japanese GP, Damon Hill came into the pits with a perfectly undamaged car, then got out, saying that he was so far down that there was no point in carrying on, as he was so far down the order.

  2. When Hamilton took the lead of the race at the end of his first stint it looked as though he was on course to gain some places. But McLaren seemed to leave him out longer than was reasonable, even as he began to lose time to the cars he was trying to get in front of.

    The reason for that became clear in his final stint, which was also on the hard tyres: McLaren simply weren’t making the rubber last as long as their rivals. This serves to reinforce the fact that there is no strategic solution for a car that isn’t quick enough.

    @keithcollantine, I agree with the final sentence, but I’m not sure tyre wear was the problem in the first stint. He lost a bit of time battling Alonso, but the lap after Alonso had passed him was not all that bad. In general, I like the idea of going a bit deeper into a stint and coming back at the others with fresher tyres at the end, though doing a 7-lap stint on the softs didn’t help Hamilton, especially since covering Grosjean proved futile. Why Hamilton had no pace in the final stint I guess I will never know, as I’m not expecting a phone call from Woking to discuss strategy with them.

  3. Its really amazing to see how Grosjean got back to the front after the collision with DiResta. And its interesting when you compare how Maldonado couldn’t get anywhere after dropping back because of hitting Perez.

    1. It was because Perez and Maldonado were on the out-lap(he had to make an extra pit stop or stay out long with the same tires – which was a bad decision). But Grosjean just made his pit stop 10 laps earlier than others, he didn’t lose nothing special with that(soft tires were anyway as bad as they were).

      1. I dont know i you will come back to read this comments, but boy-o-boy, some intelligent gray cells at last, among the comments.

        such a simple logic, aint it? First pit stops were an average of 12-13th lap …. soft tyres were worse than the harder ones, Raikkonen was held up initially …. Perez/Maldonado did not finish ….. Schumy and Hammy had un-competetive tyre wear and actually fell backwards…..Lotus have always been strong on tyre wear….All top 10 cars except the Lotuses actually fell backwards as the race progressed in bigger proportions than Grosjean moving forward…..if anything, in the last few laps he lost many seconds to Raikkonen, who set the fastest lap of the race, and Raikkonen could have easily stretched that advantange to at least 12-15 secs if only there were few more laps, or if only Grotus had called him in much earlier.

        Yes, Grosjean did drive a good race at the end, but no more than Raikkonen, and no better than Webber or Alonso, and frankly not in any way more talented than schumy or hammy. As usual, it was the Pirelli tyres that had the final say.

        ……Reminds me of Tokyo traffic, the early car need not reach the office the fastest, the traffic signals actually decide who reaches first!!!

  4. That 2nd stint by everyone pretty much sums up this season!

Comments are closed.