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A lap delta is one number, but the time is found in different places a strong sector one, a weak sector three. Sector decomposition applies the lap-level residual identity to each of the three timing sectors separately, allocating the physics components in proportion to each sector’s share of the lap. It tells you not just how much faster a driver was, but where on the track.

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What it shows

Each sector carries its own decomposition:
  • Pace delta: the driver’s average sector time minus the rolling 7-lap field median sector time for that sector and lap number.
  • Skill residual: the portion of the pace delta not explained by the physics components (fuel, tyres, ambient, constructor, dirty air) the driving contribution within that sector.
  • Total explained: the sum of the six physics components allocated to the sector. A large value means external factors, not driving style, dominated the delta.
  • Consistency: the within-race standard deviation of the skill residual for that driver–sector pair. Lower = more repeatable.
All physics components are allocated using sector_time / lap_time as the weight, which preserves the sector sum = lap total identity.
Because allocation is proportional, the three sectors’ components add back up to the full-lap decomposition you can read a sector in isolation without breaking the identity.

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How to use it

  1. Select a race and driver from the filter bar; the three sector decompositions load.
  2. Compare skill residual across sectors to find where the driver genuinely gains or loses.
  3. Check total explained a big delta with a big explained component is the car or conditions, not the driver.
  4. Read consistency to separate a one-off fast sector from a repeatable strength.

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Reading the signal correctly

Sector time is a coarse proxy for “where on track” a sector can contain several corner types, so a strong sector-two residual localises but does not pinpoint the gain. The allocation is proportional, which assumes physics effects scale with time share; this holds well on average but blurs corner-specific effects.
The rolling 7-lap field median is noisier per sector than per lap (sector times are shorter and more variable). Treat single-sector residuals as lower-confidence than the full-lap figure. See the decomposition limitations.

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Data source

The chart queries int_sector_residual_decomposed via DuckDB-Wasm in the browser, for a single race. This is a single-race view across 2018–2024 data. For the full model definition, see the int_sector_residual_decomposed reference.