
The figure shows lap times from Alonso and Hamilton following their pit stops on lap 16 and 15 respectively (outlaps have been excluded). Both ran largely unimpeded with only a few exceptions. Alonso closed the gap to Vettel on lap 30 but did not pass until lap 34 (marked as ‘1’ on the figure). This occurred shortly after Vettel’s engine problem developed. In between these laps you can see how Alonso’s lap times dropped off as he was held up and forced to move around to keep his car cool. Hamilton, in comparison, caught Vettel after his engine problem, and thus was only slightly delayed on lap 37 (marked as ‘2’ on the figure) prior to passing him on lap 38. Hamilton was also briefly held up behind Liuzzi on lap 18 just prior to Liuzzi pitting.
From the two trend lines we can see that the McLaren was initially faster than the Ferrari by a few tenths following pit stops. This gap slowly closed over the next 13 laps until the Ferrari began to produce faster lap times. By the end of the race, the Ferrari was roughly 1.2 seconds faster than the McLaren. This performance differential may be tempered in part by the two drivers letting off to save the engine for the last few laps, but the relationship between the two curves remains similar.