2019 Bahrain GP: FP2 race simulation pace (all drivers)

Key points about this graph:

1. The graph shows all lap times done by a driver during a single stint.
2. The graph is ordered by the median, from lowest to highest.
3. No laps were removed from the graph.
4. The horizontal line represents the median.
5. The box represent the interquartile range, from 25% to 75%.
6. The top labels show the median for each driver for that particular stint.
7. Label color (red, yellow or white) represent the tires used by the driver during that stint.
   1. Red = Soft tire
   2. Yellow = Medium tire
   3. White = Hard tire
8. The n() value at the bottom of the graph represents the number of laps done during that stint.

Short explanation:

Some very exciting information here. Yes, Albon was had the fastest stint with the medium tires just right at the end of FP2. No, this is not a mistake. He also had a longer stint with the soft tires from lap 13 to lap 26, however I decided to use the medium yellow tires for this analysis since those will most likely be the preferred tires for the race. His teammate, the Russian driver Daniil Kvyat also showed good racing pace, showing that perhaps Toro Rosso can do some overtakes during the race.

No real surprise with both Williams at the back of the grid, but interestingly Grosjean did some slow laps during his stint, with seven of them being above 1:37.000 out of his total 13 laps. While Magnussen did not do blistering laps either, his race pace was not that impressive either, lagging behind both Toro Rosso cars, a McLaren and a Racing Point.

While the McLaren cars did a great job, getting into Q3, their race pace was not very impressive, with Sainz especially lagging behind most of the grid. Something similar happened in Australia, where the McLaren team showed some decent one lap pace, but sluggish sace pace. Only the race will tell us the definitive truth though.

Racing Point seems to have a balanced one lap pace and race pace. Not that this is necessarily a good thing, since they were not the fastest during Q1 and Q2. They always seem to get better and better as the season goes on, so we can never count them out.

Hulkenberg had a miserable quali session, however his race pace was not bad at all, having an even better number than Charles Leclerc. However, he has a lot of work to do to climb the ladder from his starting 17th place. Ricciardo had a better quali session than his teammate, and with Grosjean losing places due to a penalty for blocking Lando Norris, he will start at 10th place. He will have his hands full with Grosjean, Albon, Gasly and Perez just right behind him.

Conclusion

There you go, the race pace analysis for all teams that will be on the grid in just a few hours. The midfield battle looks very close, with only the Williams showing a considerably slower pace than the rest of the grid.

We all know what happened with the Red Bull drivers. Verstappen managed to grab a 5th position and will try to climb positions with a strong race pace. Gasly on the other hand had once again a poor Q2 and will only start from 13th place. It will be interesting to see what he can do, especially since the RB15 looks to have a strong race pace.

The battle for the win will most likely be tight. Ferrari looked dominant during Q1, Q2 and Q3, but their race pace seems to be slightly more compromised. Do not discount Mercedes or even Red Bull challenging Ferrari for the eventual win.

I personally want to see what happens with the McLaren drivers. They had a great quali season, but their race pace seems slow, at least from the data obtained during FP2. Will they be able to stay ahead and grab some points?

I hope that this was an interesting read for you. Hopefully this information helps you to understand better what we can expect from the teams in just a few hours when they take their places at the 2019 Bahrain Grand Prix.