Telemetry Traces
Speed, throttle, brake, and steering traces that reveal driving technique.
Telemetry traces are the highest-resolution view into an F1 car's performance — recording speed, throttle position, brake pressure, steering angle, and gear selection hundreds of times per second around every lap. While teams guard their full telemetry data closely, the traces that are publicly available reveal fascinating differences in driving style: one driver might brake 10 meters later into a corner, another might get on the throttle earlier on exit. Understanding telemetry traces helps you see F1 not just as cars going around a track, but as precise technical performances that can be measured and compared.
Speed, throttle, brake, and steering data that reveals driving technique
Key Ideas
Speed Trace — The Foundation
The speed trace shows how fast the car is going at every point around the lap. Peaks show straight-line top speed; valleys show minimum corner speeds. Comparing two drivers' speed traces instantly reveals where one is faster — braking later, carrying more speed through corners, or accelerating harder on exit.
Throttle and Brake Traces
Throttle traces show how aggressively and how early a driver applies power. Brake traces show how hard and how late they brake. A driver who gets to full throttle earlier on corner exit will have a higher speed at the end of the next straight — small differences here compound over an entire lap.
Overlaying Drivers for Comparison
The most revealing use of telemetry is overlaying two drivers' traces on the same chart. Differences become immediately visible: one driver brakes 5 meters later, carries 3 km/h more through the apex, reaches full throttle 0.1 seconds earlier. These tiny differences add up to tenths of a second.
What Telemetry Can't Show
Publicly available telemetry doesn't include tire grip data, aerodynamic load, or the car's mechanical setup. A driver braking later might have better brakes or more confidence — telemetry shows what happened, but explaining why requires additional context.
How It Works
The speed trace shows how fast the car is going at every point around the lap. Peaks show straight-line top speed; valleys show minimum corner speeds. Comparing two drivers' speed traces instantly reveals where one is faster — braking later, carrying more speed through corners, or accelerating harder on exit.
Throttle traces show how aggressively and how early a driver applies power. Brake traces show how hard and how late they brake. A driver who gets to full throttle earlier on corner exit will have a higher speed at the end of the next straight — small differences here compound over an entire lap.
The most revealing use of telemetry is overlaying two drivers' traces on the same chart. Differences become immediately visible: one driver brakes 5 meters later, carries 3 km/h more through the apex, reaches full throttle 0.1 seconds earlier. These tiny differences add up to tenths of a second.
Publicly available telemetry doesn't include tire grip data, aerodynamic load, or the car's mechanical setup. A driver braking later might have better brakes or more confidence — telemetry shows what happened, but explaining why requires additional context.
See the Why
When Sportami shows telemetry comparisons in race analysis, focus on three areas: braking points (who brakes latest), minimum corner speed (who carries more speed through the apex), and throttle application (who gets on the power earliest). These three areas account for the vast majority of lap time differences.
Real-World Examples
Late Braking Advantage
Overlaying two drivers' telemetry at a heavy braking zone shows driver A braking 8 meters later than driver B. This translates to 0.15 seconds gained at a single corner. Across a lap with five heavy braking zones, these small advantages add up to a significant delta.
Corner Exit Speed Difference
Two drivers enter a corner at similar speeds, but driver A reaches full throttle 0.2 seconds earlier on exit. By the end of the following 800-meter straight, driver A is 4 km/h faster — a gap created not on the straight but by what happened at the corner exit.
Tire Degradation Visible in Traces
Comparing a driver's own telemetry from lap 5 and lap 25 on the same tires reveals the degradation story. On lap 25, they brake earlier, carry less corner speed, and get on the throttle later. The trace has shifted — the car hasn't changed, but the tires have.
Quick Check
What is the most revealing way to use telemetry traces?
Reveal answer
Overlaying two drivers' traces on the same chart reveals exactly where one driver gains or loses time — whether they brake later, carry more corner speed, or apply throttle earlier. These micro-differences are invisible when watching on-track but explain the lap time gap.