Qualifying Statistics #9 - the Nürburgring (2025)

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Introduction for New Readers
============================

2009 is the 12th season that I have posted these amateur overtaking analyses. My intention
was to allow easier comparisons between Grands Prix, seasons, circuits, drivers, etc.

In order to make any meaningful and/or useful observations it is essential to produce the
stats in as consistent a way as possible. To do this I have devised several "rules" that
I try to follow for each event. Please note before posting to complain that I missed an
obvious passing manoeuvre that it has probably been excluded because of one of my "rules".
The rules are outlined in the "Disclaimer" below - please read it.

This analysis was mainly derived from the official FIA lap chart, which is usually
available from www.fia.com, http://forix.autosport.com or www.autosport.com/f1/ on race
day or the following day. The original charts remain copyright of the FIA.

Other excellent Formula One websites are available. This analysis is completely and
totally
unofficial.

Disclaimer
==========

For the purposes of this analysis, I only count what I will term "genuine" passing
manoeuvres, which means that I always exclude:

a) any place changes made during pit stops
b) all lapping or unlapping manoeuvres
c) any place changes made during the first lap

Hopefully, a) & b) are obvious. c) is because although lap one is often the best
opportunity to make up places, it is also not typical of the rest of the race, and so,
for the purpose of comparing races with other races and seasons with other seasons,
it is simpler to exclude lap one completely. I do summarise the changes on lap one
later in the post.

For the purposes of this analysis a "pit stop" encompasses the slowing down lap and the
out lap, since any passes during those laps MIGHT be due to the driver slowing down or
speeding up.

Passes are not counted in these stats UNLESS the gained position is held until the
start/finish line is next crossed and so gets recorded onto the lap chart. I try to
ignore anything that isn't recorded in the lap chart, even if it was seen on TV.

These are the passes I read for the 2009 German GP:

Lap Place Passer (Passed) KERS
==========================================
2 4 Button (Massa) -/K
2 16 Glock (Bourdais) -/-
3 17 Nakajima (Bourdais) -/-
4 13 Fisichella (Buemi) -/-
8 12 Fisichella (Heidfeld) -/-
12 11 Fisichella (Alonso) -/-
16 16 Nakajima (Glock) -/-
17 12 Button (Buemi) -/-
19 9 Button (Heidfeld) -/-
20 17 Alonso (Trulli) -/-
23 14 Fisichella (Glock) -/-
33 6 Button (Räikkönen) -/K
35 8 Alonso (Glock) -/-
35 12 Heidfeld (Buemi) -/-
41 8 Heidfeld (Kubica) -/- [team-mates]
56 16 Trulli (Buemi) -/-
57 16 Buemi (Trulli) -/-
59 11 Fisichella (Nakajima) -/-

That's 18 passes in total, compared to 25 in 2008, at Hockenheim.

Most: 5 Fisichella

The Last 10 Seasons
===================

To save space I have removed the columns for 1997-98 from this table, but I have included
the data from those two seasons in the Total & Avg. columns. The number of passes for each
GP in 1997-98 is summarised following the main table.

1997-2009
Grand Prix 2009 '08 '07 '06 '05 '04 '03 '02 '01 '00 '99 Total Avg.
=======================================================================
1. Australia 10 11 11 23 5 9 38 19 18 13 41 208 17.3
2. Malaysia 17 11 12 16 7 20 16 27 47 31 11 216 19.6
3. China 61 9 40 51 20 17 -- -- -- -- -- 198 33.0
4. Bahrain 13 14 20 39 14 15 -- -- -- -- -- 115 19.2
5. Spain 4 3 5 7 3 7 19 10 10 4 4 124 9.5
6. Monaco 5 21 2 19 10 5 0 9 6 2 5 117 9.0
7. Turkey 10 11 15 25 30 -- -- -- -- -- -- 91 18.2
8. Britain 9 44 16 6 8 11 49 47 7 8 13 269 20.7
9. Germany 18 25 -- 21 9 29 14 25 15 42 16 238 19.8
10. Hungary -- 3 5 32 12 6 25 1 5 10 7 145 12.1
11. Europe-3 -- 4 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 4 4.0
12. Belgium -- 29 15 -- 28 22 -- 5 8 16 15 200 20.0
13. Italy -- 33 10 12 14 38 5 20 19 18 14 215 17.9
14. Singapore -- 12 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 12 12.0
15. Japan-2 -- 26 46 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 72 36.0
16. Brazil -- 21 20 18 6 41 48 30 26 22 27 295 29.9
17. Abu Dhabi -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 0 0.0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Austria -- -- -- -- -- -- 20 18 17 20 30 155 22.1
-- Canada -- 17 21 9 12 19 8 15 13 14 14 174 14.5
-- Europe-2 -- -- 18 13 24 11 8 27 7 28 33 186 16.9
-- France -- 9 6 5 5 14 12 3 8 17 43 146 12.2
-- Japan-1 -- -- -- 13 12 21 20 2 17 8 4 125 12.5
-- San Marino -- -- -- 4 7 6 4 6 13 7 11 71 7.1
-- USA -- -- 14 5 0 16 36 21 21 51 - 164 20.5
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals 147 303 276 318 226 307 322 285 257 311 288 3612 16.8
No. GP 9 18 17 18 19 18 16 17 17 17 16 215
Race Avg. 16 17 16 18 12 17 20 17 15 18 18 17

1997-98
=======

Year Tot AUS BRA ARG RSM MON ESP CDN FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA AUT LUX JPN Eur
============================================================================
1997 331 3 32 39 5 29 36 22 7 7 14 28 51 4 21 11 9 13
1998 240 7 13 11 8 4 12 10 17 44 10 11 11 28 29 6 19 --

Note: In 1997-98 the Luxembourg GP [LUX] was held at the Nürburgring, and is
considered as equivalent to the European GP (1999-2007) - Europe-2. Europe-3 is
the Valencia venue. The 1997 European GP took place at Jerez (Europe-1), and is
a one-off event in the era covered by this table.

Top 30 Races for Overtaking (1997-2009)
=======================================

# Year GP Wet SC
===========================================
1. 61 2009 - China Wet SC (2)
2. 51 1997 - Belgium Wet SC (1)
51 2000 - USA Wet
51 2006 - China Wet
5. 49 2003 - Britain SC (2)
6. 48 2003 - Brazil Wet SC (4) Race stopped
7. 47 1999 - Australia SC (2)
47 2001 - Malaysia Wet SC (1)
47 2002 - Britain Showers
10. 46 2007 - Japan Wet SC (2)

11. 44 1998 - Britain Wet SC (1)
12. 43 1999 - France Wet SC (1)
13. 42 2000 - Germany Wet SC (2)
14. 41 2004 - Brazil Wet track
15. 40 2007 - China Wet
16. 39 1997 - Argentine SC (1)
39 2006 - Bahrain
18. 38 2003 - Australia SC (2)
38 2004 - Italy
20. 36 1997 - Spain
36 2003 - USA Wet

22. 33 1999 - Europe Wet
23. 32 1997 - Brazil
32 2006 - Hungary Wet SC (1)
25. 30 1999 - Austria
30 2002 - Brazil
30 2005 - Turkey
28. 29 1997 - Monaco Wet
29 1998 - Austria SC (1)
29 2004 - Germany

Top 20 'Dry' Races (Not wet & no Safety Car)
============================================

1. 39 2006 - Bahrain
2. 38 2004 - Italy
3. 36 1997 - Spain
4. 32 1997 - Brazil
5. 30 1999 - Austria
30 2002 - Brazil
30 2005 - Turkey
8. 29 2004 - Germany
9. 28 1997 - Hungary
28 1998 - Italy
28 2005 - Belgium

12. 27 1999 - Brazil
27 2002 - Malaysia
27 2002 - Europe
15. 25 2002 - Germany
25 2003 - Hungary
17. 24 2005 - Europe
18. 22 2000 - Brazil
19. 21 1997 - Austria
21 2001 - USA
21 2002 - USA
21 2004 - Japan
21 2006 - Germany

Drivers' Season Total
=====================

AUS MAL CHN BRN ESP MON TUR GBR GER HUN Eur
=============================================================
16 Hamilton 4 1 6 - 1 1 1 2 -
16 Glock 1 5 6 - - 1 2 - 1
15 Alonso 1 1 7 1 1 - - 2 2
11 Sutil 1 1 7 - - - 2 - -
11 Fisichella - - 1 1 - 1 - 3 5
10 Kubica - - 8 - 1 - - 1 -
9 Barrichello 1 2 - 2 - - 4 - -
8 Button - - 2 1 - - - 1 4
7 Webber - 2 2 3 - - - - -
7 Buemi - 1 3 1 - - 1 - 1
5 Räikkönen - 1 4 - - - - - -
5 Vettel - 3 1 - 1 - - - -
5 Heidfeld 1 - 1 - - 1 - - 2
4 Kovalainen - - 4 - - - - - -
4 Bourdais - - 4 - - - - - -
4 Massa - - 3 1 - - - - -
4 Nakajima - - 1 1 - - - - 2
2 Piquet - - 1 1 - - - - -
2 Rosberg - - - 1 - 1 - - -
2 Trulli 1 - - - - - - - 1
-----------------------------------------------------
147 10 17 61 13 4 5 10 9 18

No. of Times Overtaken
======================

AUS MAL CHN BRN ESP MON TUR GBR GER HUN Eur
=============================================================
19 Heidfeld - 4 7 3 - 1 1 1 2
13 Trulli - 1 7 1 - 1 1 - 2
12 Fisichella 2 1 6 3 - - - - -
11 Hamilton - 2 3 1 - - 3 2 -
11 Räikkönen - 1 8 - - - 1 - 1
9 Piquet 1 1 2 1 1 - 2 1 -
9 Bourdais 4 - 1 1 - - 1 - 2
7 Sutil - - 5 - - 2 - - -
7 Massa - 1 - 1 2 1 - 1 1
7 Alonso 1 3 - - - - - 2 1
7 Kubica - - 4 - - - - 2 1
6 Rosberg 1 - 5 - - - - - -
6 Buemi 1 - 1 - - - - - 4
6 Nakajima - 2 3 - - - - - 1
5 Kovalainen - - 2 1 1 - 1 - -
5 Glock - - 1 1 - - - - 3
3 Button - - 3 - - - - - -
2 Webber - 1 1 - - - - - -
2 Barrichello - - 2 - - - - - -
0 Vettel - - - - - - - - -
-----------------------------------------------------
147 10 17 61 13 4 5 10 9 18

Gains/Losses on Lap One
=======================

Plus 5: Rosberg, Kubica
Plus 3: Massa, Buemi, Fisichella
Plus 2: Kovalainen
Plus 1: Barrichello, Räikkönen, Bourdais

No change: Alonso

Minus 1: Webber
Minus 2: Button, Vettel, Sutil, Heidfeld
Minus 3: Trulli
Minus 6: Piquet
Minus 7: Nakajima

Note: Timo Glock started the race from the pitlane. Lewis Hamilton pitted at the end
of lap one.

Gains/Losses on Lap One in 2009
===============================

Driver Total (ASP) AUS MAL CHN BRN ESP MON TUR GBR GER
===========================================================
Rosberg +12 (7.9) -1 +4 - -1 - 0 +4 +1 +5
Massa +11 (8.7) +3 +2 - -1 - 0 +1 +3 +3
Fisichella +10 (17.3) +2 0 - +4 - -2 +1 +2 +3
Hamilton +9 (12.9) +2 +1 - +2 - +1 0 +3 -
Räikkönen +6 (8.2) +2 0 - +3 - -1 -3 +4 +1
Kubica +4 (11.7) 0 - - -2 - 0 +2 -1 +5
Piquet +4 (14.1) +3 +2 - +4 - +1 +2 -2 -6
Bourdais +3 (17.1) +2 -2 - +1 - +1 0 0 +1
Webber +2 (6.1) - -2 - +4 - 0 +1 0 -1
Heidfeld +2 (12.2) - 0 - +2 - 0 -2 +4 -2

Buemi -1 (15.4) +1 0 - -4 - -1 -1 +1 +3
Sutil -2 (16.4) - 0 - +1 - +1 -2 - -2
Vettel -3 (3.6) +1 +1 - -2 - 0 -1 0 -2
Alonso -3 (8.3) -5 +4 - -1 - 0 +1 -2 0
Button -6 (2.7) 0 -2 - 0 - 0 +1 -3 -2
Trulli -7 (8.4) - 0 - -1 - -1 +1 -3 -3
Kovalainen -7 (11.9) - - - -6 - 0 +3 -6 +2
Glock -7 (12.3) - -5 - +1 - 0 -1 -2 -
Barrichello -10 (3.7) -5 +2 - 0 - +1 -9 0 +1
Nakajima -11 (11.0) +1 -4 - -4 - 0 +2 +1 -7

Note: The number in brackets (ASP) is the average starting position in 2009 (final
grid position after any penalties have been applied).

Obviously, a driver who often starts from pole position has very little chance to
gain places while one who usually starts at the back of the grid has a good chance
of gaining places.

Most Passes 1998-2009
=====================

Using only the data from my statistics these are all drivers who have achieved
50 or more passes.

* Current drivers

206 R Barrichello *

154 M Schumacher
154 R Schumacher

146 D Coulthard
134 J Button *
133 G Fisichella *
108 J Villeneuve
103 O Panis
102 J Trulli *
101 F Massa *

95 JP Montoya
93 K Räikkönen *
92 F Alonso *
89 J Alesi
77 M Webber *
77 N Heidfeld *
76 T Sato
73 H-H Frentzen
67 E Irvine
63 R Kubica *
57 L Hamilton *
54 J Verstappen
52 N Rosberg *
50 M Salo

Two other drivers who didn't quite make the cut - Mika Häkkinen & Pedro de la Rosa
(both 49).

Other current drivers:

45 H Kovalainen
37 A Sutil
30 T Glock
22 S Vettel
21 K Nakajima
14 N Piquet
12 S Bourdais
7 S Buemi

It's not unusual for me to make an occasional mistake or to omit something in
the above. I do, of course, take full responsibility for any errors. I would
be grateful to anyone for pointing them out, and will incorporate any
corrections in later posts.

--
Brian W Lawrence
Wantage,
Oxfordshire, UK
***@msn.com

Qualifying Statistics #9 - the Nürburgring (2025)
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