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Gap History

COMPARE LAP-BY-LAP PERFORMANCE AND CUMULATIVE TIME DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TWO DRIVERS TO ANALYZE RELATIVE PACE AND GAP TRENDS THROUGHOUT A SESSION.

Overview

The Gap History plugin enables detailed driver-to-driver comparison by visualizing both lap-specific performance differences and the cumulative gap trend over the course of a session. By selecting a reference driver and a comparison driver, you can quickly identify who was faster on each lap, how the overall gap evolved, and where track conditions (such as yellow flags or safety cars) may have influenced the gap.

This plugin is particularly valuable for race engineers, strategists, and analysts who need to understand relative pace dynamics, evaluate driver consistency, and assess the impact of race incidents on competitive positioning.

 

Main Features

Plugin Layout

The Gap History plugin is divided into three main sections:

  • Reference Driver List (Left): Select the baseline driver for comparison.
  • Chart (Center): Displays the visualization with bars and lines representing lap-by-lap and cumulative gaps.
  • Comparison Driver List (Right): Select the driver to compare against the reference.
 
 

Relative Gap (Bars)

The relative gap bars display the specific time difference for each lap, calculated as:

Reference Lap Time - Comparison Lap Time

Visual Styling:

  • Green bars (extending upward): Reference driver was faster than comparison driver (negative delta/gap)
  • Red bars (extending downward): Reference driver was slower than comparison driver (positive delta/gap)
  • Hovering over a bar displays a tooltip: "Relative Gap / Lap {X} : {Y}s"
 

Strategic Applications:

  • Quickly identify laps where one driver gained or lost time.
  • Spot consistency patterns or anomalies in lap-by-lap performance.
  • Evaluate the impact of traffic, tire degradation, or setup changes on relative pace.
 
 
 

Cumulative Gap (Line)

The cumulative gap line displays the running total time difference between the two drivers, calculated as:

Total Reference Time - Total Comparison Time

Visual Styling:

  • Gray dashed line with gray square markers outlined in black.

Behavior:

  • Shows the overall gap trend over the race distance.
  • Hovering over a marker displays a tooltip: "Cumulative Gap / Lap {X} : {Y}s"

Strategic Applications:

  • Track how the gap between drivers evolves over the session.
  • Identify periods of sustained pace advantage or disadvantage.
  • Assess whether a driver is closing in or pulling away over time.
 

Contextual Indicators

The Gap History plugin includes visual indicators to provide context for the data:

Yellow Flag / Safety Car
  • Visual: A yellow vertical background band appears behind specific laps.
  • Logic: Triggers if either the reference driver or the comparison driver had a YellowFlag track state on that lap.
  • Use Case: Helps identify laps where caution periods may have affected lap times or gap calculations.
 
Missing Data
  • Visual: A red background label with white text: "LAP {N} MISSING FOR {DriverName}"
  • Logic: Appears if lap data is missing for one of the drivers in the sequence.
  • Use Case: Alerts you to incomplete data that may affect the accuracy of the comparison. 
 

Display Options & Customization:

Context Menu Options

Right-click on the plugin to access customization options:

 
Use Maximum Range
  • Type: Tickbox with numeric input
  • Default: Unchecked (Value: 10)
  • Controls the X-axis (lap count) range displayed in the chart.
    • Unchecked: The chart displays all laps from the start of the session (Lap 1) to the current lap.
    • Checked: The chart zooms in to show only the last N laps (defined by the numeric input).

Use Case: During long races, enabling this option allows you to focus on recent pace trends without visual clutter from earlier laps. 

 

Car Selection

The sidebar offers robust tools for managing which cars are displayed in the analysis. Please see Car Selection Sidebar Article to get more information.

 
 

Notes & Tips:

Tip: Use the Gap History plugin in combination with the Stint Analysis plugin to correlate gap trends with tire strategy and stint performance.

Note: The relative gap calculation is based on individual lap times. If a driver completes a lap under yellow flag conditions, the lap time may not reflect their true pace potential.

Caution: Missing lap data can affect the accuracy of cumulative gap calculations. Always check for missing data indicators when analyzing the chart.

 

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