2014 British Grand Prix lap times and fastest laps

2014 British Grand Prix

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Lewis Hamilton set the fastest lap of the British Grand Prix during the middle of the race while he was chasing down race leader Nico Rosberg.

But would Hamilton have been able to catch his team mate had it not been for gearbox problem?

Hamilton had a clear edge on Rosberg during their first stint on medium tyres, consistently taking around three tenths of a second out of his team mate. His margin was even greater after he made his first pit stop and switched to the hard tyre, gaining over a second per lap on the other Mercedes.

But Rosberg’s gearbox problem had begun much earlier. He reported a problem with his down-shift initially, and according to his team it then cleared up for around ten laps. Then the problem returned, this time on the up-shifts, and proved impossible to fix.

It’s likely that when Hamilton was making his biggest gains on Rosberg than was largely down to the problem which had struck the other Mercedes.

However Hamilton had a clear underlying pace advantage. Had he been able to go the distance on his second set of tyres it’s likely he would have been able to stay within range of Rosberg to get again. And even if not, by being able to finish the race on medium tyres he would have stood a fair chance of jumping Rosberg in the pits or passing him on-track.

Unfortunately we never got to see how this particular battle would have been resolved. But as Mercedes continue to enjoy a substantial performance advantage – Hamilton’s best lap was over two seconds faster than anyone else had managed at the time he set it – there will surely be more of those to savour this year.

British Grand Prix lap times

All the lap times by the drivers (in seconds, very slow laps excluded):

https://www.racefans.net/charts/2014drivercolours.csv

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546474849505152
Nico Rosberg135.16698.60999.01198.93498.7598.85798.85798.98899.16999.46499.76799.26799.02499.13999.2599.03998.122118.48198.61598.30998.33198.45498.31598.5398.09198.28899.705
Sebastian Vettel143.937102.113101.545101.807101.138101.348101.283101.235100.027119.75799.5399.754100.055100.21599.35199.59499.75899.81699.66899.56499.752100.005100.17799.91599.82399.87499.91899.3499.817100.08999.61299.419120.13898.82599.22899.76798.70299.49199.38299.03499.57298.94499.21699.29398.83799.91598.44997.78598.45299.2697.481
Jenson Button136.405101.05101.612101.226101.129101.472101.339101.165101.114101.409101.299100.807100.904100.821101.402101.335101.431101.463100.855100.625100.722101.055100.997101.101100.466101.07199.555119.42299.74399.59799.12899.17699.23898.6798.87999.04998.6299.2039998.67798.58499.29298.79598.89599.17399.07799.21598.52998.47398.32998.284
Nico Hulkenberg145.216102.878102.368102.39102.372101.983102.719102.715102.698102.579102.111101.823101.75102.164101.437101.092101.833101.402101.424102.29101.456101.488101.812101.774101.568102.746102.954101.273121.01799.84299.5299.4899.11699.32799.53499.49799.29199.58499.4799.19599.18299.20499.34899.37699.406100.05699.38799.07798.98798.93398.625
Kevin Magnussen137.733102.406101.51101.663101.421101.431101.127101.031101.079101.221101.188101.454101.383101.848101.039101.189101.158100.989101.267101.086100.721100.867100.853101.989101.453100.259119.27499.063100.02499.45998.67799.038100.14999.22399.39199.28599.51799.89599.51398.93898.89999.0899.36599.45399.3399.90999.57599.42399.64199.67699.36
Lewis Hamilton139.816100.28499.53399.34598.78698.86199.01299.07998.79499.01299.43398.95498.76398.96998.55498.6898.70898.83798.93598.71898.79298.87797.583119.83997.17697.30797.62298.70398.85599.3599.32998.80999.17698.27798.59598.97998.7598.69599.02598.232120.0697.72297.48397.55498.11498.55598.19197.85798.09498.14598.78
Sergio Perez145.293103.995104.108104.545103.1102.157102.36102.796103.038102.949103.449103.357102.535101.654102.492102.556102.463101.863101.751101.442101.675101.677101.856101.771100.531121.47999.90599.56199.77899.49499.4299.6399.621100.078100.452100.31799.71899.62299.43998.71698.90898.95499.26599.154101.57999.78599.637100.186100.265100.039
Daniel Ricciardo147.63103.25102.136102.091102.828101.899102.27101.569101.044101.326101.166100.573100.67699.22119.11399.0399.64599.459100.2299.99399.3499.2399.34799.34299.465100.162100.10299.094100.17799.99399.17299.01898.45998.83798.94299.1199.21399.60499.49399.22899.18599.10599.13999.31399.2999.56100.004100.04299.69699.6998.993
Daniil Kvyat149.52103.456102.185102.117102.674102.058102.272102.51102.398102.584102.052102.113101.288120.741100.069100.411101.269100.401100.579100.301100.599101.171100.673100.116100.374100.544100.607100.664100.934100.781100.192100.761100.25399.211120.25499.3198.91899.15499.15798.86398.6198.78698.80498.40798.91599.46898.9498.80599.09398.9698.452
Jean-Eric Vergne178.411104.22103.912102.612103.078102.825103.161102.984102.902102.879102.261101.57101.788101.632101.316101.378101.478101.487101.397101.228101.238102.804101.137100.95101.4999.864121.48799.31399.86999.57899.38899.661100.09399.686101.556100.90799.475100.19499.89799.58899.41499.36499.26199.43399.67299.63799.42599.551101.306100.062
Romain Grosjean174.789103.765102.927103.827103.065103.005103.086104.739103.306102.519102.822101.899101.859102.134101.713101.864102.9102.309102.371101.699101.765101.788101.715102.112102.121102.001101.691102.13100.936121.49399.64499.99399.71299.906100.177100.06899.68199.683100.02199.62499.32299.25599.65699.34799.20999.45698.91999.12599.11698.996
Jules Bianchi153.99104.1104.37103.95103.325102.62104.053104.239102.936104.305104.379103.577104.687103.246103.987104.007103.326102.874102.56102.545102.184101.934102.384102.124102.261102.765105.001101.3123.644100.635100.361100.56100.502100.714101.407102.07100.821100.909100.372100.444102.647100.179100.928102.664101.847101.01105.021100.868100.67499.961
Adrian Sutil157.495104.226104.313103.906103.545102.426102.606101.94102.11103.422102.362101.982101.932101.759101.815101.613101.755101.699101.761101.721102.169100.818123.443101.088101.148100.365101.916101.592100.986102.374100.823100.963100.041100.057100.558102.274101.147100.848100.583101.301101.092100.703100.362100.837100.658100.787100.89100.982101.527103.747
Valtteri Bottas150.817102.163101.217101.475101.238100.814101.304101.334100.951100.975100.625100.225100.186100.19599.90199.68999.74999.9599.7299.67199.56499.74399.60199.76799.58299.48999.27499.427100.32599.363118.08698.27498.26498.27998.54199.03198.45998.40298.90798.5398.3798.46498.34599.08999.21298.95999.12699.34299.23899.28299.977
Felipe Massa
Fernando Alonso162.541103.758101.381100.988101.295101.659100.959100.672100.291100.576100.303100.388100.789100.514100.402100.404100.68100.914101.18100.689100.564101.306101.001100.083125.32799.63899.44699.33399.69299.56999.07499.27799.18199.14999.24899.61598.68499.38599.36199.23999.46599.01299.17399.27898.927101.52699.62599.48699.23499.39698.587
Max Chilton152.665116.769102.788102.565103.077102.863103.023103.134103.243103.074103.043103.064103.015103.561104.045103.41103.177103.655102.531102.651103.326103.835102.686102.089102.804102.765104.189102.051124.37101.523101.345105.634101.342101.05101.386101.822101.25100.893100.824100.932100.462101.198101.178101.49101.389101.045103.626101.839100.399
Kimi Raikkonen
Esteban Gutierrez160.601104.377104.5103.721103.425102.566103.385106.694
Pastor Maldonado165.18104.049104.58103.764103.187102.89103.271105.785102.824102.881103.803104.47103.855103.448102.517102.582102.498102.324102.189102.163101.935102.115102.122101.953100.357120.096100.352100.325100.926101.053100.875100.851100.909101.009100.867100.927100.833100.78100.907101.055101.086101.753100.927101.091100.708100.877100.314105.659
Marcus Ericsson169.542105.24105.28104.779105.943104.319105.587104.383104.415130.389
Kamui Kobayashi148.434104.193104.304105.301105.29104.471104.203104.178103.921104.583104.289104.152104.409104.18104.353105.256103.691125.614103.384103.055104.5104.379103.816105.778105.178104.455103.696103.432124.256101.462101.875103.365104.94102.475102.282102.808103.52103.925102.745102.658102.37102.438103.787104.13102.777104.319104.203104.836105.931

British Grand Prix fastest laps

Each driver’s fastest lap:

RankDriverCarFastest lapGapOn lap
1Lewis HamiltonMercedes1’37.17626
2Sebastian VettelRed Bull-Renault1’37.4810.30552
3Nico RosbergMercedes1’38.0910.91526
4Valtteri BottasWilliams-Mercedes1’38.2641.08834
5Jenson ButtonMcLaren-Mercedes1’38.2841.10852
6Daniil KvyatToro Rosso-Renault1’38.4071.23145
7Daniel RicciardoRed Bull-Renault1’38.4591.28334
8Fernando AlonsoFerrari1’38.5871.41152
9Nico HulkenbergForce India-Mercedes1’38.6251.44952
10Kevin MagnussenMcLaren-Mercedes1’38.6771.50132
11Sergio PerezForce India-Mercedes1’38.7161.54041
12Romain GrosjeanLotus-Renault1’38.9191.74348
13Jean-Eric VergneToro Rosso-Renault1’39.2612.08544
14Jules BianchiMarussia-Ferrari1’39.9612.78551
15Adrian SutilSauber-Ferrari1’40.0412.86534
16Pastor MaldonadoLotus-Renault1’40.3143.13848
17Max ChiltonMarussia-Ferrari1’40.3993.22350
18Kamui KobayashiCaterham-Renault1’41.4624.28631
19Esteban GutierrezSauber-Ferrari1’42.5665.3907
20Marcus EricssonCaterham-Renault1’44.3197.1437

2014 British Grand Prix

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Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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23 comments on “2014 British Grand Prix lap times and fastest laps”

  1. “Hamilton’s best lap was over two seconds faster than anyone else had managed at the time he set it”

    True, but I don’t think it is entirely representative. No doubt the advantage was large, but if we’re comparing laps set at comparable times, then I think a fairer comparison would be to Bottas’ fastest lap, from lap 34, which was also set immediately after stopping for new tyres, which brings the gap to the nearest non-Mercedes down to a little over 1 second.

    While Hamilton had no reason to push after Rosberg’s exit, it seems fairly clear from the radio-message sent to Bottas after his pit stop that he could have upped the pace too if it was necessary, but chose (entirely sensibly) to consolidate an excellent second place.

    1. True, but don’t forget to account for 8 laps worth of fuel as well.

      1. Exactly, I love this knowledgeable forum.

        1. If you look at the behaviour of Bottas’ times over a number of laps both before and after his pit stop they are very stable at their respective levels. I don’t think fuel was a significant factor here, just the fresh rubber, in which case I still think the comparison of post pit stop lap times is fairer than comparing brand new tyres to 25 lap old tyres, even with 8 laps less fuel.

  2. There were a few bad calls by strategists this weekend but what sticks out for me is RBR. In the past 4 years they were pretty good – this year not so much. Also today RICs strategy was just a gamble and VET pitted 1 lap too late to stay clear from ALO.
    There were many other factors like VET’s poor start but from the lap times and the positions at the restart they gave away points.

    1. Their strategy calls this year have been consistently poor – at least where Vettel has been concerned. If their goal is to help DR finish ahead of his teammate then they’re doing a fine job. They pitted VET far too early for the first stop, forcing him onto a two-stop strategy employed by none of the other front-runners.

      1. Mr win or lose
        6th July 2014, 23:22

        I think their strategy in Spain was pretty good and in Canada there was nothing the team could have done better I think.
        When looking at the laptimes, it seems that Vettel’s second pitstop was indeed one lap too late this time, although I didn’t expect him to lose that position to Alonso. That overtake and his inability to recover wrecked his race.

      2. I disagree. Red Bull got Vettel out in front of Alonso – he just couldn’t stay there.

        1. Mr win or lose
          7th July 2014, 11:54

          Vettel lost half a second in his last full lap before his second pitstop compared to Alonso, so at least his chances of staying ahead would have been considerably bigger if he had pitted earlier. Due to their low top speed the Red Bulls are extremely vulnerable in these close battles.

          1. Actually, they (RBR and Ferrari) were pretty matched in top speed here at Silverstone. RBR is a better car in race pace for sure. Ferrari has no engine, no chassis, no aero… nothing top-tech in that car. Even with a mediocre engine like Renault, the RBR is still impressive on corners and exiting corners. Their very good corners exit saves partially the lack of top speed. Basically, what some gain via a higher top speed RBR achieves with a better traction.

    2. When you have the fastest car you can really make any strategy call work. Look at how Bottas moved up from his grid position to second, and similarly how Lewis moved up from 9th in Austria to second.
      It’s when you’ve got a much slower car, such as Red Bull, Ferrari and Mclaren – then obviously strategy and track position play an incredibly important role.

  3. Am I the only one thinking that if Rosberg had not had that problem, Hamilton would probably not have pitted again? He stopped 15 laps later than Ricciardo, who went 41 laps with soft tyres, while Hamilton took on the harder compound. So Hamilton would have likely won that race, as all through the field pretty clearly the one-stop was the better strategy. Any potential pace difference between different drivers within the same car wasn´t big enough to matter.

    1. I thought that too. The second pit stop was precaution, from my view, and HAM had a 41 second lead.

      Had Rosberg not had any gearbox gremlins, I think he would’ve sealed this race. Lewis was catching him, but I would think the decreasing gaps were mainly down to the downshifting, then later on the upshifting.

  4. Mr win or lose
    6th July 2014, 23:32

    Until lap 9 Rosberg very well matches Hamilton’s pace, then suddenly he is consistently 3 tenths per lap slower, which is probably due to his gearbox issues. He never seems to recover, as his laptimes after his pitstop are equally fast as his laptimes at the beginning of the race (same tyres, but more fuel).
    Without his problem, Rosberg would probably have kept a 6-second lead over Hamilton until the pitstops. I don’t think the different strategies would have made much of a difference in the end, so I think he would have won.

  5. “But would Hamilton have been able to catch his team mate had it not been for gearbox problem?”

    We shall never know, German engineering robbed us of that,

    but it would have been “EPIC”

    1. British Engineering.

  6. Bianchi’s fastest lap was quicker than both Sauber’s, both Caterham’s, a Lotus and his team mate…pretty handy lap there Jules.

    1. That was a pretty good lap, but Max is not more than 4 tenths behind, which is kinda “normal” for them?

  7. Read this article @cocaine-mackeine and just maybe, just maybe you open your eyes from the tunnel you’re in. He/She thought NR didn’t have any problems before he stopped the car eventhough it was clear from the broadcast and radio messages already.

  8. If there is anything Spain and Bahrein thought us it’s overtaking Rosberg would never been easy. In fact the Mercedes drivers have never overtaken each other succesfully on track. The driver, in races where both finished, first into T1 has always gone on to finish the race first. Also in Austria Hamilton could not find a way past.

    Had Rosberg not had this problem it would’ve taken Hamilton probably longer to catch up to him. We’re not sure he was going for this one stop either. He even pitted for another set of primes, probably just to be sure.

    Not even this data can prove for 100% Hamilton would’ve gotten past. I’m happy for him he won because it might not have been true otherwise.

    1. Mr win or lose
      7th July 2014, 11:00

      Had Rosberg not had this problem it would’ve taken Hamilton probably longer to catch up to him. We’re not sure he was going for this one stop either. He even pitted for another set of primes, probably just to be sure.

      It seems likely that Hamilton and Rosberg were on different strategies. If Rosberg was on a 2-stopper, he would have been in the same position as in Bahrain and Spain at the end of the race. That would have been really entertaining to watch.

    2. Remember in Bahrain, Rosberg did get past, but a few corners later Hamilton managed to retake the position, so in a way there have been two overtakes between the Mercedes cars.

  9. Hi, this is an interesting article on the battle between Rosberg and Hamilton. I was wondering if the author or anyone else can either give me a link or send me a spreadsheet with all of the lap times from the race for each driver? The graph above shows that they must exist somewhere but I am unable to find them. I am trying to do my own analysis of the race and would love to have access to this data!

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