Round 16 · 2004

Shanghai International Circuit

Shanghai, China · September 26, 2004 · Circuit History · Wikipedia

Kings of this circuit
The race, in perspective

Race debrief

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

R162004
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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 452 earlier finishes across 40 races, 1996–2004. 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
R. BarrichelloFerrari #22439 No error range P1 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
J. ButtonBAR #32316 No error range P2 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
K. RäikkönenMcLaren #112070 No error range P3 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
F. AlonsoRenault #72149 No error range P4 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
J. Pablo MontoyaWilliams #42246 No error range P5 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
T. SatoBAR #82128 No error range P6 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
G. FisichellaSauber #62209 No error range P7 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
F. MassaSauber #102078 No error range P8 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
D. CoulthardMcLaren #52231 No error range P9 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
M. WebberJaguar #92103 No error range P10 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
J. VilleneuveRenault #162038 No error range P11 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
M. SchumacherFerrari #12580 No error range P12 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
N. HeidfeldJordan #172005 No error range P13 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
O. PanisToyota #181986 No error range P14 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
T. GlockJordan #142047 No error range P15 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
Z. BaumgartnerMinardi #191923 No error range P16 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
G. BruniMinardi #201843 No error range DNFWheel Not assessedQualifying unavailable
R. SchumacherWilliams #152042 No error range DNFCollision Not assessedQualifying unavailable
R. ZontaToyota #122062 No error range DNFTransmission Not assessedQualifying unavailable
C. KlienJaguar #132059 No error range DNFCollision Not assessedQualifying unavailable
How useful is the model? See the historical check

Average absolute error on 243 classified finishes in 20 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
2.22places
Qualifying only
2.28places
Elo only
2.77places

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 grid-to-finish gain

Sato+12 places

The bigger picture

Championship after this round

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

  1. 1 Schumacher 136pts 0
  2. 2 Barrichello 108pts 0
  3. 3 Button 79pts 0
  4. 4 Alonso 50pts +1
  5. 5 Trulli 46pts −1

Movement since round 15. 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.

BAR

ButtonP2+30.0 Elo
SatoP6+31.5 Elo

4 places apart at the finish.

Jaguar

WebberP10+6.5 Elo
KlienDNF−59.1 Elo

Non-finish recorded; no finishing gap comparison.

Toyota

PanisP14−2.2 Elo
ZontaDNF−52.2 Elo

Non-finish recorded; no finishing gap comparison.

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 (Schumacher)
4
Non-finishes

Race

Qualifying

# Driver Grid +/- Points Season Pts Season # Elo Change Elo
P1 🇧🇷 R.Barrichello 1 +10 108 P2 +22.5 2,461
P2 🇬🇧 J.Button 3 +1 +8 79 P3 +30.0 2,346
P3 🇫🇮 K.Räikkönen 2 -1 +6 34 P7 +63.9 2,134
P4 🇪🇸 F.Alonso 6 +2 +5 50 P4 +42.3 2,192
P5 🇨🇴 J.Pablo Montoya 10 +5 +4 46 P6 +18.5 2,265
P6 🇯🇵 T.Sato 18 +12 +3 26 P8 +31.5 2,159
P7 🇮🇹 G.Fisichella 7 +2 21 P10 +9.9 2,219
P8 🇧🇷 F.Massa 4 -4 +1 11 P12 +25.7 2,104
P9 🇬🇧 D.Coulthard 9 0 24 P9 -8.5 2,223
P10 🇦🇺 M.Webber 11 +1 0 7 P13 +6.5 2,110
P11 🇨🇦 J.Villeneuve 12 +1 0 0 P23 +10.8 2,049
P12 🇩🇪 M.Schumacher 20 +8 0 136 P1 -69.9 2,510
P13 🇩🇪 N.Heidfeld 14 +1 0 3 P18 +1.9 2,007
P14 🇫🇷 O.Panis 8 -6 0 6 P14 -2.2 1,983
P15 🇩🇪 T.Glock 16 +1 0 2 P19 -20.2 2,027
P16 🇭🇺 Z.Baumgartner 19 +3 0 1 P20 -7.0 1,916
DNF 🇮🇹 G.Bruni 17 0 0 P25 -3.4 1,840
DNF 🇩🇪 R.Schumacher 5 0 12 P11 -41.2 2,000
DNF 🇧🇷 R.Zonta 13 0 0 P21 -52.2 2,010
DNF 🇦🇹 C.Klien 15 0 3 P16 -59.1 2,000

Qualifying results are not available for this race.

Elo Changes