Round 18 · 2004

Autódromo José Carlos Pace

São Paulo, Brazil · October 24, 2004 · Circuit History · Wikipedia

Kings of this circuit
The race, in perspective

Race debrief

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

R182004
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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
J. Pablo MontoyaWilliams #42267 No error range P1 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
K. RäikkönenMcLaren #82166 No error range P2 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
R. BarrichelloFerrari #32350 No error range P3 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
F. AlonsoRenault #62221 No error range P4 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
R. SchumacherWilliams #122085 No error range P5 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
T. SatoBAR #72201 No error range P6 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
M. SchumacherFerrari #12527 No error range P7 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
F. MassaSauber #112119 No error range P8 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
G. FisichellaSauber #52222 No error range P9 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
J. VilleneuveRenault #132067 No error range P10 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
D. CoulthardMcLaren #92152 No error range P11 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
J. TrulliToyota #102138 No error range P12 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
R. ZontaToyota #172010 No error range P13 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
C. KlienJaguar #162012 No error range P14 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
T. GlockJordan #152012 No error range P15 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
Z. BaumgartnerMinardi #191904 No error range P16 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
G. BruniMinardi #201845 No error range P17 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
M. WebberJaguar #142043 No error range DNFCollision Not assessedQualifying unavailable
N. HeidfeldJordan #182010 No error range DNFClutch Not assessedQualifying unavailable
J. ButtonBAR #22366 No error range DNFEngine 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 Elo loss

Button−107.7 Elo

Largest grid-to-finish gain

Schumacher+11 places

The bigger picture

Championship after this round

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

  1. 1 Schumacher 148pts 0
  2. 2 Barrichello 114pts 0
  3. 3 Button 85pts 0
  4. 4 Alonso 59pts 0
  5. 5 Pablo Montoya 58pts 0

Movement since round 17. 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

SatoP6+20.7 Elo
ButtonDNF−107.7 Elo

Non-finish recorded; no finishing gap comparison.

Jaguar

KlienP14−4.5 Elo
WebberDNF−39.3 Elo

Non-finish recorded; no finishing gap comparison.

Jordan

GlockP15−11.9 Elo
HeidfeldDNF−40.9 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)
3
Non-finishes

Race

Qualifying

# Driver Grid +/- Points Season Pts Season # Elo Change Elo
P1 🇨🇴 J.Pablo Montoya 2 +1 +10 58 P5 +46.4 2,314
P2 🇫🇮 K.Räikkönen 3 +1 +8 45 P7 +56.3 2,222
P3 🇧🇷 R.Barrichello 1 -2 +6 114 P2 +19.3 2,369
P4 🇪🇸 F.Alonso 8 +4 +5 59 P4 +32.0 2,253
P5 🇩🇪 R.Schumacher 7 +2 +4 24 P9 +48.8 2,134
P6 🇯🇵 T.Sato 6 +3 34 P8 +20.7 2,222
P7 🇩🇪 M.Schumacher 18 +11 +2 148 P1 -29.4 2,497
P8 🇧🇷 F.Massa 4 -4 +1 12 P12 +20.6 2,140
P9 🇮🇹 G.Fisichella 10 +1 0 22 P11 -4.8 2,217
P10 🇨🇦 J.Villeneuve 13 +3 0 0 P21 +15.3 2,082
P11 🇬🇧 D.Coulthard 12 +1 0 24 P10 -7.2 2,144
P12 🇮🇹 J.Trulli 9 -3 0 46 P6 -12.2 2,126
P13 🇧🇷 R.Zonta 14 +1 0 0 P22 +3.2 2,013
P14 🇦🇹 C.Klien 15 +1 0 3 P16 -4.5 2,007
P15 🇩🇪 T.Glock 17 +2 0 2 P19 -11.9 2,000
P16 🇭🇺 Z.Baumgartner 19 +3 0 1 P20 -2.6 1,901
P17 🇮🇹 G.Bruni 20 +3 0 0 P25 -2.3 1,843
DNF 🇦🇺 M.Webber 11 0 7 P13 -39.3 2,004
DNF 🇩🇪 N.Heidfeld 16 0 3 P18 -40.9 1,969
DNF 🇬🇧 J.Button 5 0 85 P3 -107.7 2,258

Qualifying results are not available for this race.

Elo Changes