Having been the fifth-quickest team on average last year Mercedes have leaped to the front of the field on pure performance in 2013.
An analysis of the fastest lap times set by all the teams at every track on the calendar so far this year shows Mercedes set the quickest time at eight out of ten races. More often than not they delivered on that potential, setting seven pole positions so far.
On average Mercedes were just 0.05% off the quickest lap time set at every race so far this year. Red Bull are next quickest, 0.3% off, and there’s little to choose between Lotus and Ferrari who have both been 0.66% off the pace on average.
McLaren, who were the quickest team over a single lap on average last year, have slumped to sixth-quickest in terms of pure speed, even falling behind Force India.
But Williams have lost even more performance since last year. They have been almost 2.5% slower over a lap than the pace setters, gaining 1.5% since last year.
The table below shows how far away each team has been from the fastest lap time set at each race weekend this year, as a percentage, and how that has changed since last year:
| Team | 2013* | 2012 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercedes | 0.05 | 0.87 | -0.82 |
| Red Bull | 0.337 | 0.38 | -0.043 |
| Lotus | 0.656 | 0.68 | -0.024 |
| Ferrari | 0.657 | 0.75 | -0.093 |
| Force India | 1.37 | 1.16 | +0.21 |
| McLaren | 1.487 | 0.18 | +1.307 |
| Toro Rosso | 1.608 | 1.82 | -0.212 |
| Sauber | 2.014 | 1.15 | +0.864 |
| Williams | 2.467 | 0.96 | +1.507 |
| Caterham | 4.25 | 3.49 | +0.76 |
| Marussia | 4.322 | 4.83 | -0.508 |
*First ten races
See the full breakdown of how close to the pace each team has been at each track