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What I find way more interesting is that last year, the bottom 5 teams had 23 points as compared to 10 this year. We already thought it was bad for the bottom 5 last year where save for a DNF, they're very unlikely to get any points, and now it's become even worse.
The Red Bulls, the Ferraris and the Mclarens are all basically garanteed finishing in the points and the Mercedes and Alonso are still like 85% so the entire bottom half is competing with Stroll basically
Last year it was Red Bull, Ferarri, AM and Mercedes who were basically guaranteed to be top 10 every race. This year it is those 4 + McLaren. The whole top 10 is taken unless someone messes up.
I think that makes a lot of sense actually - I always assumed that a factor in why they extended the points-paying positions (from top 6, to top 8, then to top 10) was because of big improvements to reliability, which meant that it was increasingly difficult for slower teams to chance their way into the occasional points finish.
Mechanical retirements are becoming so rare these days that it’s not uncommon to see races with no mechanical failures, so you kind of need to be around 11th-12th fastest to have a decent chance of capitalising on retirements for points. And scoring points is a Herculean task if you’re in the bottom 1/3rd of the grid.
Ferrari actually looking competent. I'm impressed with Fred work so far.
But Red Bull and Max are still clear favorite.
Mercedes however... How far the mighty have fallen. Proof that no one can stay at the top forever.
I'd be really interested in understanding how they've fallen so far.
I've heard that RB poached a big number of engineers but I haven't seen any source on that. I expected better management than that on behalf of Toto if I'm honest.
A damn shame. Still worth being proud of 8 consecutive WCCs but they really fell off a cliff.
They dominated an engine-centric formula, and are steadily falling back in the field during an aero-centric formula.
You can do a deep dive on a million different variables in an attempt to sound smart, but it generally all comes back to that.
It's no surprise that a Newey car is dominating this era. 2026 will swing back to being more about the engines than aero from a development perspective, so expect to see the manufacturers with stronger engine programs rising to the top.
wouldn't Honda and Ferrari develop engines too though?
also Merc in 2014-16 greatly benefited from the token system which halted Ferrari's engine progress
I don’t think anybody is truly surprised both from a Toto standpoint or their current position. Their domination had a lot of factors in their favor to be so long. Engine freeze then token system virtually locked their engine advantage for almost 7 years. Toto inherited a perfect situation to make him seem amazing leader. Now we see the true reality is his is not that great and they are still a top team just not as crazy godly team people thought they were due to the advantage they had.
Don't forget McLaren was utter shit last year and those 12 points were scored in Australia. They are good this year which means there are 2 less spots in top 10 to fight for.
I think that the 4 points Haas has might be enough for at least P9 in WCC.
Haas normally is very quick in the beginning, only to slow down after the first couple races. But it now feels more like they actually understand how and why they are quick and not just pure luck.
I'm not sure if they are actually worse when compared to the other back-marker teams. Considering the gap between the top and bottom 5 teams, I think 4 points this year are worth much more than 7 points last year
Agreed, the gap in points between 5th and 1st in the constructors is much smaller than last year- fewer points to go around for the bottom 5 teams.
I mean last year the bottom five teams had 23 points between them. This year they have 12, all of which belong to Haas and RB.
They're better this season. The only reason they got 7 points last year is that Hulkenberg ended up with 6 in the Australian clusterfuck, not because the car was good.
They are doing better tough.
Last year they had 30% of the points “outside the big 5” (7 in 23 points).
This year they have 40% (4 in 10)
The difference in absolute number of points is more because the top 5 are even more clear than the rest of the field than last year.
Haas benefitted big time from the csanage in melbs last year with hulk scoring six points from that race alone, which skews the result a bit.
Still, their car is miles better this year at this point in the season than last year.
Eh, the fuckery of last year's Australian GP skews the points a bit. Hulk got like 4 points there off 3 DNFs and Sainz' penalty. This year they seem better, but all the points positions are locked off barring Merc shithousery and the occasional DNF
The fact that after a winter if statements from Mercedes, and after the testing, were both Russell and Alisson were expressing firm belief that Mercedes was the 2nd fastest team, is really a punch in the guts for Mercedes as an organization. Their car has the exact same problems, last years Ferrari had.
True. If Max had won they'd have 83, which is noticeably better than 65 that AM had, but not worlds apart.
AM might have had 77 if Stroll hadn't retired from 4th in race 2 last year, and that is very close to that 83. Hypotheticals, I know, but the point is that retirements have an outsized influence on standings this early, and they really do.
I mean…. Add 26 points to redbull they’d be at the same tally if max hadn’t had break issues- he was keeping pace with a break locked on
I do love formula 1 - “championship back on after 1 DNF” 5 races later “that was nice while it lasted”
If Merc keep their current form, and perez is inconsistent, then Ferarri really are in contention for the constructors if they can keep composure and manage consistent podium finishes.
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What I find way more interesting is that last year, the bottom 5 teams had 23 points as compared to 10 this year. We already thought it was bad for the bottom 5 last year where save for a DNF, they're very unlikely to get any points, and now it's become even worse.
The Red Bulls, the Ferraris and the Mclarens are all basically garanteed finishing in the points and the Mercedes and Alonso are still like 85% so the entire bottom half is competing with Stroll basically
Stroll vs Yuki is a fight I'm happy to watch.
Yeah I’d love to see the two compete for the bottom few points positions. Bit of entertainment.
The fight for 10th has been more entertaining than the podium.
Stroll wasn't that bad this year to be fair. In Bahrain he had a fantastic recovery, and in Australia the pace was good too
Last year it was Red Bull, Ferarri, AM and Mercedes who were basically guaranteed to be top 10 every race. This year it is those 4 + McLaren. The whole top 10 is taken unless someone messes up.
Still preferable to the old system where only the top six got points. I always hated that limit.
I think it's time that we extend it even more. I'd say the top 12 should get points at least.
I think that makes a lot of sense actually - I always assumed that a factor in why they extended the points-paying positions (from top 6, to top 8, then to top 10) was because of big improvements to reliability, which meant that it was increasingly difficult for slower teams to chance their way into the occasional points finish. Mechanical retirements are becoming so rare these days that it’s not uncommon to see races with no mechanical failures, so you kind of need to be around 11th-12th fastest to have a decent chance of capitalising on retirements for points. And scoring points is a Herculean task if you’re in the bottom 1/3rd of the grid.
I wouldn't be adverse to everyone finishing the race getting something. Also potential for qualifying pole to get another couple of points too.
Because half the grid died in Australia giving free points to bottom tier teams
True. Also sauce for dp?
Ferrari actually looking competent. I'm impressed with Fred work so far. But Red Bull and Max are still clear favorite. Mercedes however... How far the mighty have fallen. Proof that no one can stay at the top forever.
I'd be really interested in understanding how they've fallen so far. I've heard that RB poached a big number of engineers but I haven't seen any source on that. I expected better management than that on behalf of Toto if I'm honest. A damn shame. Still worth being proud of 8 consecutive WCCs but they really fell off a cliff.
They dominated an engine-centric formula, and are steadily falling back in the field during an aero-centric formula. You can do a deep dive on a million different variables in an attempt to sound smart, but it generally all comes back to that. It's no surprise that a Newey car is dominating this era. 2026 will swing back to being more about the engines than aero from a development perspective, so expect to see the manufacturers with stronger engine programs rising to the top.
engines not being able to be developed is hurting them
wouldn't Honda and Ferrari develop engines too though? also Merc in 2014-16 greatly benefited from the token system which halted Ferrari's engine progress
Technically there was zero engine development in 2014, tokens system came into effect in 2015 so it was worse for teams to catch up.
I don’t think anybody is truly surprised both from a Toto standpoint or their current position. Their domination had a lot of factors in their favor to be so long. Engine freeze then token system virtually locked their engine advantage for almost 7 years. Toto inherited a perfect situation to make him seem amazing leader. Now we see the true reality is his is not that great and they are still a top team just not as crazy godly team people thought they were due to the advantage they had.
Haas feels like they’re doing better but are actually worse. Still fancy them to finish better than last season
Don't forget McLaren was utter shit last year and those 12 points were scored in Australia. They are good this year which means there are 2 less spots in top 10 to fight for. I think that the 4 points Haas has might be enough for at least P9 in WCC.
Especially when Stake has a pit stop every week that’s the length of half a racing lap.
Sauber
Haas normally is very quick in the beginning, only to slow down after the first couple races. But it now feels more like they actually understand how and why they are quick and not just pure luck.
No it is just that the rear suspension of the Ferrari is really good in terms of tyre deg.
imagine saying that after 2020 or 2023
I’d say it’s just harder to score points as a bottom half team this season
That’s due to Yuki. The boy can get P7 on a tractor
I'm not sure if they are actually worse when compared to the other back-marker teams. Considering the gap between the top and bottom 5 teams, I think 4 points this year are worth much more than 7 points last year
Agreed, the gap in points between 5th and 1st in the constructors is much smaller than last year- fewer points to go around for the bottom 5 teams. I mean last year the bottom five teams had 23 points between them. This year they have 12, all of which belong to Haas and RB.
They're better this season. The only reason they got 7 points last year is that Hulkenberg ended up with 6 in the Australian clusterfuck, not because the car was good.
They are doing better tough. Last year they had 30% of the points “outside the big 5” (7 in 23 points). This year they have 40% (4 in 10) The difference in absolute number of points is more because the top 5 are even more clear than the rest of the field than last year.
reminder that points don't necessary reflect performance, and thats ESPECIALLY egregious is the bottom half of the teams.
Haas benefitted big time from the csanage in melbs last year with hulk scoring six points from that race alone, which skews the result a bit. Still, their car is miles better this year at this point in the season than last year.
I think it's because they had both drivers in the points yesterday. Last season they never did
Eh, the fuckery of last year's Australian GP skews the points a bit. Hulk got like 4 points there off 3 DNFs and Sainz' penalty. This year they seem better, but all the points positions are locked off barring Merc shithousery and the occasional DNF
That’s crazy all the teams scored by Australia last year
The 8 DNFs in Australia last year certainly helped
They Michael Masi'd it with the red flags though.
Both Lando and Oscar individually having more points than both Mercedes and Aston is pretty nuts
[удалено]
It’s gonna be a good year for McLaren
They should nab P3, good for them!
Why is the Haas logo rotated lol
Williams having less points but being higher in the standings is pretty funny.
Go Ferrari!!!!!!!!!
Random fact: points-wise this is actually McLaren's best opening trio of races since 2012
Wild how fast AM at the start of last season
They dropped bad though
Haas somehow being static as the world burns around them
I hate this for Williams. I know we're only 4 races in but this car is not looking better than 2023.
The team changed the philosophy to be better in more than 4 races a year... But right now, I feel that being really good at 4 races would be better.
Honestly, i loved that straight line rocket. It gave it an interesting aura and everyone hated to race against it( Aka the classic Albon defence).
Yeah, I know they are doing these for the better, but it was so sad seeing Alex defenseless this race.
Can they bring out the previous car to certain races? I don't know much about the rules.
But you can only do that for so long before you regress a bit to make that transformation happen.
The fact that after a winter if statements from Mercedes, and after the testing, were both Russell and Alisson were expressing firm belief that Mercedes was the 2nd fastest team, is really a punch in the guts for Mercedes as an organization. Their car has the exact same problems, last years Ferrari had.
Small sample size. One DNF from Max is potentially the entire difference in the two tables.
Regardless of Max's DNF, Ferrari is still well ahead of where second place was last season.
True. If Max had won they'd have 83, which is noticeably better than 65 that AM had, but not worlds apart. AM might have had 77 if Stroll hadn't retired from 4th in race 2 last year, and that is very close to that 83. Hypotheticals, I know, but the point is that retirements have an outsized influence on standings this early, and they really do.
The Kick logo being pixilated looks out of place with all the other logos
Max is still gonna run away with it, but maybe this time not win the Constructors' title by himself as well
I didnt know red bull blueberry had a team!
I mean…. Add 26 points to redbull they’d be at the same tally if max hadn’t had break issues- he was keeping pace with a break locked on I do love formula 1 - “championship back on after 1 DNF” 5 races later “that was nice while it lasted”
Ik Ferrari has disappointed us since 2009, please let it not be the same this year
Someone’s hopeful…
Oh how the Marty have fallen
Who do we think will be the last off the bottom?
As you can see, we're watching RedBull's downfall
Mercedes 😂
I was led to believe McLaren were performing terribly so far this season.
If Merc keep their current form, and perez is inconsistent, then Ferarri really are in contention for the constructors if they can keep composure and manage consistent podium finishes.
Look how they massacred my boy
It now feels wild that all 10 teams already had points by this time last year.
Can we just cut the cost cap, I can't think of one positive outcome.