Round 18 · 2023

Circuit of the Americas

Austin, USA · October 22, 2023 · Circuit History · Wikipedia

Kings of this circuit
The race, in perspective

Race debrief

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

R182023
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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 614 earlier finishes across 37 races, 2013–2023. 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 #12705 No error range P1 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
L. NorrisMcLaren #32374 No error range P2 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
C. SainzFerrari #82277 No error range P3 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
S. PérezRed Bull #42366 No error range P4 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
G. RussellMercedes #72288 No error range P5 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
P. GaslyAlpine F1 Team #102150 No error range P6 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
L. StrollAston Martin #142063 No error range P7 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
Y. TsunodaAlphaTauri #181980 No error range P8 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
A. AlbonWilliams #122108 No error range P9 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
L. SargeantWilliams #201905 No error range P10 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
N. HülkenbergHaas F1 Team #171986 No error range P11 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
V. BottasAlfa Romeo #162046 No error range P12 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
G. ZhouAlfa Romeo #152050 No error range P13 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
K. MagnussenHaas F1 Team #191957 No error range P14 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
D. RicciardoAlphaTauri #132072 No error range P15 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
F. AlonsoAston Martin #62331 No error range DNFRetired Not assessedQualifying unavailable
O. PiastriMcLaren #92235 No error range DNFRetired Not assessedQualifying unavailable
E. OconAlpine F1 Team #112112 No error range DNFRetired Not assessedQualifying unavailable
L. HamiltonMercedes #22376 No error range DSQDisqualified Not assessedQualifying unavailable
C. LeclercFerrari #52363 No error range DSQDisqualified Not assessedQualifying unavailable
How useful is the model? See the historical check

Average absolute error on 614 classified finishes in 37 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
2.08places
Qualifying only
2.31places
Elo only
2.50places

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

Tsunoda+41.4 Elo

Largest Elo loss

Leclerc−81.0 Elo

Largest grid-to-finish gain

Stroll+13 places

The bigger picture

Championship after this round

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

  1. 1 Verstappen 466pts 0
  2. 2 Pérez 240pts 0
  3. 3 Hamilton 201pts 0
  4. 4 Alonso 183pts 0
  5. 5 Sainz 171pts 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.

Ferrari

SainzP3+31.8 Elo
LeclercDSQ−81.0 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 (Verstappen)
8
Non-finishes

Race

Qualifying

# Driver Grid +/- Points Season Pts Season # Elo Change Elo
P1 🇳🇱 M.Verstappen 6 +5 +25 466 P1 +6.5 2,711
P2 🇬🇧 L.Norris 2 +18 159 P6 +25.9 2,400
P3 🇪🇸 C.Sainz 4 +1 +15 171 P5 +31.8 2,309
P4 🇲🇽 S.Pérez 9 +5 +12 240 P2 +14.8 2,381
P5 🇬🇧 G.Russell 5 +10 143 P8 +18.4 2,306
P6 🇫🇷 P.Gasly 7 +1 +8 56 P10 +31.0 2,181
P7 🇨🇦 L.Stroll 20 +13 +6 53 P11 +36.9 2,100
P8 🇯🇵 Y.Tsunoda 11 +3 +5 8 P16 +41.4 2,021
P9 🇹🇭 A.Albon 15 +6 +2 25 P13 +18.8 2,127
P10 🇺🇸 L.Sargeant 16 +6 +1 1 P20 +37.7 1,943
P11 🇩🇪 N.Hülkenberg 18 +7 0 9 P15 +22.7 2,008
P12 🇫🇮 V.Bottas 13 +1 0 10 P14 +9.1 2,055
P13 🇨🇳 G.Zhou 12 -1 0 6 P17 +2.5 2,053
P14 🇩🇰 K.Magnussen 17 +3 0 3 P18 +8.1 1,965
P15 🇦🇺 D.Ricciardo 14 -1 0 0 P22 -12.4 2,060
DNF 🇪🇸 F.Alonso 19 0 183 P4 -53.2 2,278
DNF 🇦🇺 O.Piastri 10 0 83 P9 -46.7 2,188
DNF 🇫🇷 E.Ocon 8 0 44 P12 -35.8 2,076
DSQ 🇬🇧 L.Hamilton 3 0 201 P3 -76.5 2,300
DSQ 🇲🇨 C.Leclerc 1 0 151 P7 -81.0 2,282

Qualifying results are not available for this race.

Elo Changes