Fastest laps

[f1316]

Is it just me, or does the fastest lap of a grand prix mean virtually nothing any more? The fastest lap of a Grand Prix these days is almost entirely dictated by who changed their tyres last, and is often taken by someone on a compromised stategy who had to take a late, unplanned, stop.

Take Germany, for example. I was as happy as anyone to see MSC get the fastest lap, but Mercedes were never really on the pace in the dry, so this statistic reflects absolutely nothing about the pace of the day.

I was always an advocate of bringing back points for the fastest lap, thereby giving drivers an incentive to push hard in the very closing stages even if positions were pretty much decided - excitingly fast driving and mistakes would therefore ensue. But with the situation as it is now? I think it would just lead to silly, pointless extra pitstops.

All of which makes me wonder whether, in the future, fastest laps should really be displayed alongside wins and poles as a driver's "vital stats".

[Nando]

Well in my opinion fastest laps is irrelevant even with the introduction fuel because at the end of the day people are sitting in totally different cars.

Now had it been a spec series with fixed fuel it would mean much more.

[Speedster]

Well in my opinion fastest laps is irrelevant even with the introduction fuel because at the end of the day people are sitting in totally different cars.

Now had it been a spec series with fixed fuel it would mean much more.

Well, no, Formula 1 has always been about man and machine, in that respect fastest lap is just a reflection which driver and team combo was the fastest over a lap that day.

I agree with the thread starter though, that nowadays it is not that relevant anymore. Fastest lap is simply for last stopper (or thereabout).

[zyphro]

It meant very little since the introduction of fully-fueled tanks. And even less so, when these pesky new Pirelli's have been introduced.

[flynfrog]

the fastest laps always have meant nothing. One fast lap of a race distance means nothing in the context of the race a fast 5 in a row would be much more telling.

[Just_a_fan]

Fastest lap means little these days because of the qualifying format and the fact that they must use two tyre compounds (wouldn't matter who made them).

The reasons is thus: the teams qualify on light fuel and the fastest tyre. They then have to run the car at its heaviest on those same fast tyres. At some point, they will change to a different compound - often this happens when the car is lighter towards the end of the race. So, at no point is the car in a setup that allows the driver to achieve the car's maximum potential - they are usually heavy / fast tyres or light / slow tyres. To get decent fast laps they would want to be on fast tyres and light fuel. Occasionally a team will run a strategy that puts a light car on to the faster tyre with a limited number of laps to go - at this point we will see a decent fast lap time but, as no one else is doing it, it's not really very meaningful.

Also, the need to conserve fuel during the race and manage engine and gearbox life also limits the potential for a driver to be able to really extend the cars.

The only time during the race weekend that ultimate single lap pace (i.e. fastest lap) is possible is during qualifying.

[Cam]

@Just_a_fan - agree. Even in qualifying I think some teams have a better race car than qualifying car, so determining the actual possible fastest lap is almost impossible. All the while teams must conserve components (tyres, engines, gearboxes, fuel etc) we'll never see them fold back the limits on what the car can actually do.

[bhall]

I was impressed by Raikkonen's 10 fastest laps in 2008, including a string of six in a row.

[Cam]

Ahh, the good old days. Anyone impressed you since?

[bhall]

Absolutely. But, not so much in terms of fastest laps. As has already been said, these days they're little more than a reflection of fuel level, tire life and track position. Often, the winning driver will find it beneficial to avoid setting the fastest lap due to the damage such a lap can do to overall pace.

[Cam]

Does the fastest lap award still run - if so, isn't essentially irrelevant now?

[bhall]

Yes, DHL is apparently still delivering a Fastest Lap Award. But, not in the U.S.

[Just_a_fan]

Often, the winning driver will find it beneficial to avoid setting the fastest lap due to the damage such a lap can do to overall pace.

One thing that was obvious in Hungary watching the live timing was how Hamilton was very obviously pacing himself in order to manage the tyres during the last stint. He did several laps within a tenth or so of each other even though Kimi was driving like the devil to catch him. Occasionally he put in a spurt, almost as if to say to Lotus "hey guys, I'm this pace because I want to be".

We've seen similar from Alonso this year too.

[zyphro]

Often, the winning driver will find it beneficial to avoid setting the fastest lap due to the damage such a lap can do to overall pace.

One thing that was obvious in Hungary watching the live timing was how Hamilton was very obviously pacing himself in order to manage the tyres during the last stint. He did several laps within a tenth or so of each other even though Kimi was driving like the devil to catch him. Occasionally he put in a spurt, almost as if to say to Lotus "hey guys, I'm this pace because I want to be".

We've seen similar from Alonso this year too.

That's how these tyres work, for optimal performance.

You can't bang in fast laps continuously - you'd be left with no grip.

[f1316]

I agree with virtually all of this. The problem for me, much like with many other things, comes from the lack of refuelling. In the days of refuelling, it was equally possible to set the fastest lap of the gp at the end of any given stint, not necessarily the end of the race. These were the times when pit-stop position changes were made, due to one driver pushing to the absolute maximum on low fuel to maximise the advantage he'd gained from running longer.

The point being that the fastest lap often correlated with the most impressive lap of the race. If we look at Hungary 2012, however, I think you'd be hard pressed to say that Kimi's 1:25 on old tyres was not the most impressive lap - the time it took for anyone to lower it even after new tyre stops bears this out - and yet the fastest lap, I believe, went to a late-stopping Red Bull. It just is less reflective of "the fastest car/driver" in the race than it was and is therefore less relevant statistically.