Creating New Variables

We can also add to our data sets! If we want to make a new variable, we can use the mutate(), which uses existing data to create new variables. The correct format of the function is the following, first is the new variable name and then an equal sign =, followed by how the new variable will be formed and what existing variables are used to make it.

mutate(new_column_name = function(old_variable_1))

In the example below, we calculate the average lap time by taking the total time for the driver to finish the race divided by the number of laps.

library(tidyverse)

── Attaching core tidyverse packages ──────────────────────── tidyverse 2.0.0 ──
✔ dplyr     1.1.4     ✔ readr     2.1.5
✔ forcats   1.0.0     ✔ stringr   1.5.1
✔ ggplot2   3.5.1     ✔ tibble    3.2.1
✔ lubridate 1.9.3     ✔ tidyr     1.3.1
✔ purrr     1.0.4     
── Conflicts ────────────────────────────────────────── tidyverse_conflicts() ──
✖ dplyr::filter() masks stats::filter()
✖ dplyr::lag()    masks stats::lag()
ℹ Use the conflicted package (<http://conflicted.r-lib.org/>) to force all conflicts to become errors

library(RandomData)

season_2023 <- race_stats |>
  select(circuit, year, constructor, surname, time, laps) |>
  filter(constructor == "McLaren" & year == 2023) |>
  mutate(avg_laptime = sum(time)/laps)

season_2023 |> 
   select(circuit, year, constructor, surname, avg_laptime) |>
   # remove duplicates
   unique() |>
   print()

# A tibble: 40 × 5
   circuit                         year constructor surname avg_laptime
   <chr>                          <dbl> <chr>       <chr>         <dbl>
 1 Bahrain International Circuit   2023 McLaren     Norris      646286.
 2 Jeddah Corniche Circuit         2023 McLaren     Norris      710915.
 3 Jeddah Corniche Circuit         2023 McLaren     Piastri     710915.
 4 Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit  2023 McLaren     Norris      612858.
 5 Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit  2023 McLaren     Piastri     612858.
 6 Baku City Circuit               2023 McLaren     Norris      696975.
 7 Baku City Circuit               2023 McLaren     Piastri     696975.
 8 Miami International Autodrome   2023 McLaren     Norris      623609.
 9 Miami International Autodrome   2023 McLaren     Piastri     634745.
10 Circuit de Monaco               2023 McLaren     Norris      461633.
# ℹ 30 more rows

If we wanted to make a new character variable we would use the case_when() in the mutate() function. In this example, I make a new variable based on the final position of the race for the two McLaren drivers, Piastri and Norris, in the 2023 season. I use the existing variables the circuit and surname to make this new variable.

McLarenStandings_2023 <- race_stats |>
  select(circuit, year, constructor, surname) |>
  # remove duplicates
  unique() |>
  filter(constructor == "McLaren" & year == 2023) |>
  mutate(
    final_position = case_when(
      #PIASTRI
      circuit == "Bahrain International Circuit" & surname == "Piastri" ~ "DNF",
      circuit == "Jeddah Corniche Circuit" & surname == "Piastri" ~ "15",
      circuit == "Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit" & surname == "Piastri" ~ "8", 
      circuit ==  "Baku City Circuit" & surname == "Piastri" ~ "11",
      circuit ==  "Miami International Autodrome" & surname == "Piastri" ~ "19",
      circuit == "Circuit de Monaco" & surname == "Piastri" ~ "10",
      circuit == "Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya" & surname == "Piastri" ~ "13",
      circuit == "Circuit Gilles Villeneuve" & surname == "Piastri" ~ "11", 
      circuit == "Red Bull Ring" & surname == "Piastri" ~ "16",
      circuit == "Silverstone Circuit" & surname == "Piastri" ~ "4",
      circuit == "Hungaroring" & surname == "Piastri" ~ "5",
      circuit == "Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps" & surname == "Piastri" ~ "DNF",
      circuit == "Circuit Park Zandvoort" & surname == "Piastri" ~ "9",
      circuit == "Autodromo Nazionale di Monza" & surname == "Piastri" ~ "12",
      circuit == "Marina Bay Street Circuit" & surname == "Piastri" ~ "7",
      circuit == "Suzuka Circuit" & surname == "Piastri" ~ "3",
      circuit == "Losail International Circuit" & surname == "Piastri" ~ "2",
      circuit == "Circuit of the Americas" & surname == "Piastri" ~ "DNF",
      circuit == "Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez" & surname == "Piastri" ~ "8",
      circuit == "Autódromo José Carlos Pace" ~ "14",
      circuit == "Las Vegas Strip Street Circuit" & surname == "Piastri" ~ "10",
      circuit == "Yas Marina Circuit" & surname == "Piastri" ~ "6",
        
        # NORRIS
        circuit == "Bahrain International Circuit" & surname == "Norris" ~ "17",
        circuit == "Jeddah Corniche Circuit" & surname == "Norris" ~ "17",
        circuit == "Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit" & surname == "Norris" ~ "6",
        circuit ==  "Baku City Circuit" & surname == "Norris" ~ "9",
        circuit ==  "Miami International Autodrome" & surname == "Norris" ~ "17", 
        circuit == "Circuit de Monaco" & surname == "Norris" ~ "9", 
        circuit == "Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya" & surname == "Norris" ~ "17", 
        circuit == "Circuit Gilles Villeneuve" & surname == "Norris" ~ "13",
        circuit == "Red Bull Ring" & surname == "Norris" ~ "4", 
        circuit == "Silverstone Circuit" & surname == "Norris" ~ "2",
        circuit == "Hungaroring" & surname == "Norris" ~ "2",
        circuit == "Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps" & surname == "Norris" ~ "7",
        circuit == "Circuit Park Zandvoort" & surname == "Norris" ~ "9",
        circuit == "Autodromo Nazionale di Monza" & surname == "Norris" ~"8",
        circuit == "Marina Bay Street Circuit" & surname == "Norris" ~ "2",
        circuit == "Suzuka Circuit" & surname == "Norris" ~ "2",
        circuit == "Losail International Circuit" & surname == "Norris" ~ "3",
        circuit == "Circuit of the Americas" & surname == "Norris" ~ "3",
        circuit == "Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez" & surname == "Norris" ~ "5",
        circuit == "Autódromo José Carlos Pace" ~ "2",
        circuit == "Las Vegas Strip Street Circuit" & surname == "Norris" ~ "DNF",
        circuit == "Yas Marina Circuit" & surname == "Norris" ~ "5"
        )
  ) 

print(McLarenStandings_2023)

# A tibble: 40 × 5
   circuit                         year constructor surname final_position
   <chr>                          <dbl> <chr>       <chr>   <chr>         
 1 Bahrain International Circuit   2023 McLaren     Norris  17            
 2 Jeddah Corniche Circuit         2023 McLaren     Norris  17            
 3 Jeddah Corniche Circuit         2023 McLaren     Piastri 15            
 4 Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit  2023 McLaren     Norris  6             
 5 Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit  2023 McLaren     Piastri 8             
 6 Baku City Circuit               2023 McLaren     Norris  9             
 7 Baku City Circuit               2023 McLaren     Piastri 11            
 8 Miami International Autodrome   2023 McLaren     Norris  17            
 9 Miami International Autodrome   2023 McLaren     Piastri 19            
10 Circuit de Monaco               2023 McLaren     Norris  9             
# ℹ 30 more rows