Round 8 · 2021

Red Bull Ring

Spielberg, Austria · June 27, 2021 · Circuit History · Wikipedia

Kings of this circuit
The race, in perspective

Race debrief

What did we expect after qualifying—and who beat it?

R082021
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20 stored results 20/20 Elo snapshots 20/20 numbered grid slots 0/20 qualifying results
Elo × qualifying → race result

Did they beat the expectation?

A strong driver recovering from a poor qualifying position isn't automatically a surprise. This model estimates a finish from both inputs, then compares it with what happened.

Experimental · v1

Expected finish assumes a classified finish. DNFs stay in the full grid but receive no performance verdict. Qualifying is not the starting grid; grid differences are flagged, not silently substituted.

Fit on 624 earlier finishes across 36 races, 2011–2021. No results from this race enter its expectation.

0/20 entrants have an estimate. Missing Elo or qualifying stays visible below; a grid position is not used as a qualifying result.

Top 3

Beat the estimate

No comparable estimates available for this race yet.

Flop 3

Below the estimate

No comparable estimates available for this race yet.

0/20 entrants assessed. Up to three per side, ranked by expected minus actual finish. DNFs, missing estimates and gaps rounding to 0.0 are excluded. “Flop” means below the model's estimate—not poor driving. A ranked gap can still be inside the usual error range.

Full grid: pre-race Elo rank, qualifying position, estimated finish, actual result and difference from expectation. Positive differences mean finishing ahead of the estimate.
DriverPre-race EloQualifyingExpectedResultP1 ← position → P20vs expectedReading
M. VerstappenRed Bull #22398 No error range P1 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
L. HamiltonMercedes #12610 No error range P2 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
V. BottasMercedes #72291 No error range P3 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
S. PérezRed Bull #32368 No error range P4 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
L. NorrisMcLaren #42363 No error range P5 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
C. SainzFerrari #52300 No error range P6 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
C. LeclercFerrari #92193 No error range P7 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
L. StrollAston Martin #122119 No error range P8 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
F. AlonsoAlpine F1 Team #132088 No error range P9 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
Y. TsunodaAlphaTauri #162028 No error range P10 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
K. RäikkönenAlfa Romeo #142043 No error range P11 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
S. VettelAston Martin #102186 No error range P12 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
D. RicciardoMcLaren #62299 No error range P13 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
E. OconAlpine F1 Team #112129 No error range P14 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
A. GiovinazziAlfa Romeo #152032 No error range P15 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
M. SchumacherHaas F1 Team #181920 No error range P16 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
N. LatifiWilliams #201876 No error range P17 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
N. MazepinHaas F1 Team #191887 No error range P18 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
G. RussellWilliams #171973 No error range DNFEngine Not assessedQualifying unavailable
P. GaslyAlphaTauri #82249 No error range DNFCollision Not assessedQualifying unavailable
How useful is the model? See the historical check

Average absolute error on 624 classified finishes in 36 earlier races within the last ten years. Each race was held out and predicted using only older races; all three models use the same samples.

Elo + qualifying
2.14places
Qualifying only
2.38places
Elo only
2.62places

The range scales the 80th percentile of earlier held-out absolute errors to this field size, rounding outward. It is an empirical error guide, not a guaranteed 80% chance for a particular driver. We require at least five checked races and 100 checked finishes before showing it.

Inputs are field-normalised Elo rank and qualifying position. The target is position among all race entries, trained only on classified finishers. Estimates are averages, not a unique predicted finishing order. Penalties, the circuit, weather, incidents and strategy aren't model inputs. Historical qualifying coverage is patchy; this is an exploratory backtest on corrected records, not proof of live forecasting accuracy.

The rating ledger

What changed in Elo?

These are actual rating changes. The expectation model above does not change Elo or fantasy scoring.

Largest Elo gain

Bottas+28.0 Elo

Largest Elo loss

Gasly−68.6 Elo

The bigger picture

Championship after this round

Top five in the stored standings. Points include sprint results where applicable.

  1. 1 Verstappen 156pts 0
  2. 2 Hamilton 138pts 0
  3. 3 Pérez 96pts 0
  4. 4 Norris 86pts 0
  5. 5 Bottas 74pts 0

Movement since round 7. A dash means the earlier standing is unavailable.

Explore the season →
Across the garage

Teammate results

Two-driver constructor entries from this race. A result comparison, not an adjustment for strategy or reliability.

What this analysis can—and cannot—tell you

This debrief is calculated from stored results and rating snapshots. The experimental expectation model learns from earlier races only, using Elo rank and qualifying together; it never feeds back into Elo. It is not a separately reviewed race report.

Elo uses the result order, including retirements. It does not isolate driver skill from the car, reliability, penalties or strategy. Elo seed comparisons use pre-race ratings, never today's ratings. Equal ratings share the midpoint of their rank range (for example, tied first and second become seed 1.5).

Grid gains use numbered starting slots and classified finishes only. Zero or missing grid values are excluded; a position gained is not necessarily an overtake. Qualifying gaps use the latest segment both teammates have a valid time for, never Q1 against Q3.

Lap-by-lap pace, tyre stints, pit-stop execution and safety-car effects are not available in this report. Missing data is omitted, not inferred.

Read the Elo methodology →
20
Result Entries
Avg Elo
Highest Elo (Hamilton)
2
Non-finishes

Race

Qualifying

# Driver Grid +/- Points Season Pts Season # Elo Change Elo
P1 🇳🇱 M.Verstappen 1 +25 156 P1 +27.5 2,425
P2 🇬🇧 L.Hamilton 2 +19 138 P2 +4.0 2,614
P3 🇫🇮 V.Bottas 5 +2 +15 74 P5 +28.0 2,319
P4 🇲🇽 S.Pérez 4 +12 96 P3 +12.8 2,380
P5 🇬🇧 L.Norris 3 -2 +10 86 P4 +7.2 2,371
P6 🇪🇸 C.Sainz 12 +6 +8 50 P7 +8.8 2,309
P7 🇲🇨 C.Leclerc 7 +6 58 P6 +17.0 2,210
P8 🇨🇦 L.Stroll 9 +1 +4 14 P12 +21.2 2,140
P9 🇪🇸 F.Alonso 8 -1 +2 19 P11 +19.5 2,107
P10 🇯🇵 Y.Tsunoda 11 +1 +1 9 P14 +21.4 2,049
P11 🇫🇮 K.Räikkönen 18 +7 0 1 P15 +13.4 2,056
P12 🇩🇪 S.Vettel 14 +2 0 30 P10 -12.0 2,174
P13 🇦🇺 D.Ricciardo 13 0 34 P9 -33.0 2,266
P14 🇫🇷 E.Ocon 17 +3 0 12 P13 -16.1 2,112
P15 🇮🇹 A.Giovinazzi 15 0 1 P16 -9.2 2,023
P16 🇩🇪 M.Schumacher 19 +3 0 0 P18 -1.9 1,918
P17 🇨🇦 N.Latifi 16 -1 0 0 P20 -3.4 1,873
P18 🇷🇺 N.Mazepin 20 +2 0 0 P19 -10.5 1,876
DNF 🇬🇧 G.Russell 10 0 0 P17 -25.9 1,947
DNF 🇫🇷 P.Gasly 6 0 37 P8 -68.6 2,180

Qualifying results are not available for this race.

Elo Changes