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A period during a lap where the driver is neither on the throttle nor on the brakes. Coasting represents wasted time that could have been spent either braking later or accelerating earlier, and is one of the easiest gains to find in data.
Segers defines it precisely in Analysis Techniques for Racecar Data Acquisition: "Coasting is a period of time where the driver is neither on the throttle nor on the brakes. Theoretically, coasting is lost time that could have been used for acceleration (later braking, earlier acceleration). We can distinguish two types of coasting: coasting between coming off the throttle and going on the brakes, and coasting between coming off the brakes and going on the throttle." He is emphatic: "The first situation is always bad. Coasting after coming off the throttle and before hitting the brakes indicates that the driver could have braked later. This is a response issue that is often caused by inexperience or a lack of confidence in the car." He provides the detection formula: "Coasting = (TP < 5%) AND (PBrake < 5 bar)" which creates a binary math channel highlighting every moment of wasted time. His driver comparison showed "Driver A has a longer coasting period on corner entry compared with Driver B."