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Harsh Compression/Expansion Zones
Some of the recent F1 discussions got me thinking about this. Basically, these features occur where you have a slow corner, and in the most extreme cases, it's a tight corner between two straights of some notable length. So what happens is the physical gap between cars rapidly decreases, but then shoots right back up again as they transition from the braking zone to the acceleration zone.
This phenomenon, when it occurs too frequently on a circuit, tends to have a real detrimental impact on overtaking potential, because it is this feature that leads to the rapid spreading/separation of a field of cars in just the first few laps after the start or a restart.
Now then, I've calculated as best I can the frequency values in miles per instance of these sorts of zones for all 21 current F1 circuits. So here are some figures.
Overall Average: 0.748 miles
New-Build Circuits: 0.670 miles
Non-Permanent Circuits: 0.608 miles
Modified/Mutilated Existing Circuits: 0.669 miles
Comparatively Intact Classic Circuits: 1.016 miles
And just to give a wider lens, here are some of those figures applied to not only the active F1 venues, but also F1-capable circuits that aren't on the 2018 calendar.
New-Build Circuits: 0.774 miles
Non-Permanent Circuits: 0.584 miles
Modified Existing Circuits: 0.612 miles
And here's a special bonus.
New-Build Circuits Never Used by F1: 0.802 miles
There do appear to be various features that can influence how much of a separation you see between the cars when negotiating a slower corner. Circuit flow and rhythm play a role. One of the most obvious factors though seems to be elevation change. The steep downhill run after La Source at Spa looks to negate a substantial amount of the expected growth in the physical gaps between cars. On the other hand, the largely uphill run out of Spoon Curve at Suzuka appears to somewhat frustrate attempts to close the gap on the car in front heading toward 130R.
I'm continuing to compile a listing, including a wide array of non-permanent circuits from across the globe, as well as a data set for more classic road courses.
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