Telemetric Data - What is it and how is it used?

 Let's talk telemetry.

Telemetry is what's referred to as the real-time transmission of data from a Formula 1 car to the pit wall. This essentially allows teams to monitor and do an in-depth analysis of different aspects of both the car's performance and behaviour on track.

Now, let's examine the various aspects taken into consideration when analysing telemetric data in Formula 1, using data from Piastri and Norris's cars during the 2025 Hungarian GP as an example. (Data taken from https://www.gp-tempo.com/)

Firstly, let's talk about track dominance with each bit of data taken from Lap 10, Piastri in orange, Norris in grey. We can see that during this lap Piastri is the more dominant car on track, meaning that through the majority of his lap, Piastri had overall better pace being quicker over more corners and through straights. Norris, however still had some strengths through the exit of T1 and the entry to T4-T5. You could link Lando being faster in these areas with the high traction zone on the exit of T1 and the high-speed entry of T4/5.

Now let's talk about the speed of the car where in the image below uphill spikes correspond to acceleration zones and sharp dips correspond to braking zones. Overall, during Lap 10 from T2 onwards a similar lap is produced from Piastri and Norris. However, at the beginning of the lap you can see that Norris accelerated much more than Piastri before braking into T1. Before braking into this corner Norris was at a speed of 311km/h whereas Piastri was at 289km/h. From T13 to the end of the lap Piastri and Norris had almost identical laps.

Another aspect considered when analysing telemetric data is the delta. The delta is the time difference in this case between two drivers on a lap. On this image, anytime Norris's line is below Piastri's is where a negative delta was maintained therefore meaning Norris was faster than Piastri throughout that part of the lap. So through T3 there was a delta of -0.247 which meant that Norris was 0.247 seconds faster than Piastri, but from T6 onwards there is a positive delta for Norris meaning that he is slower than Piastri, e.g. T15 - delta = +0.371.

Throttle is another important factor that has to be analysed in order to understand F1 telemetric data as it shows many things, one of which being how fast the driver is trying to go, the higher throttle meaning more acceleration is being used. It can also be used to help understand the cars behaviour, for example if full throttle can't be used in some corners, it can point towards there being and grip or balance issue with tyres. Drivers also need to ensure they are careful with how much throttle is used as they need to manage fuel and energy efficiently. Before going into T1 and T14, Piastri goes off the throttle later than Norris meaning he could be attempting to carry more speed into the corner, however it also has to be considered that this can negatively affect tyre wear and potentially cause a lock-up.

Next thing to consider is braking. In the image below, the places where there is a lower flat line the brake is at 0 which means the driver has released their foot off the brake pedal. In areas where there is a steep incline the brake is at 1 meaning that is fully pressing the brake pedal. If analysing this brake data during Lap 10, we can see that before T1 Piastri puts his foot on the brake a bit later than Norris. This tends to be the case throughout other parts of the lap during T8, T10 and just before T13.

Another really important factor to consider when analysing F1 telemetric data is the RPM (revolutions per minute). This essentially is the unit of rotational speed indicating the number of full rotations completed by an object around a fixed axis over the duration of a minute. In Formula 1, this would be referring to the rotation of the engine crankshaft, with lower values indicating that the engine is idle and higher values indicating that the engine is spinning faster and therefore closer to a maximum performance range. Norris's highest RPM range during Lap 10 was 11,744 RPM and Piastri's being 12,367 RPM which is approximately 75-80% RPM.

Next aspect to be discussed is DRS (drag reduction system) which is a type of tech designed to help reduce the aerodynamicdrag and increase top speed which therefore promotes overtaking. This can be activated in designated DRS zones on track where drivers adjust a flap on the rear wing on the car. This system was introduced in 2011. In terms of telemetric data where the values for DRS are either 0 or 1, a value of 0 corresponds to DRS being closed whereas a value of 1 means that DRS is open. During Lap 10, there are a few points where DRS is open, this being only for Norris.

The last factor that measured when analysing F1 telemetric data is the gear. In Formula 1 there are 8 gears. 1st gear tends to be used for race starts and in very slow corner as it gives maximum torque and low speed, 2nd gear being used in slow corners as well as traction zones as it gives high torque. 3rd gear is used within medium speed corners due to assisting with balance of power, this being used in Lap 10 near T1,T3,T8,T13 and T15. 4th gear is used at faster corner exits as well as shorter straights as it allows for less torque but higher speed, being used by both drivers near T6, 5th gear is used for medium length straights due to it helping the car gain momentum, being used by both Piastri and Norris between T9-T10. 6th gear is used for long straights as well as fast curves as it can give the car higher speed, used by both drivers between T12-T13. 7th gear tends to be used in DRS zones or full throttle zones as there is very high speed and low torque, being used by Piastri before entry into T1 and 8th gear is used for longest straights (with DRS) as it allows for maximum efficiency and top speeds and as seen in Lap 10 is used by Norris before entry to T1.