Round 9 · 2010

Valencia Street Circuit

Valencia, Spain · June 27, 2010 · Circuit History · Wikipedia

The race, in perspective

Race debrief

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

R092010
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24 stored results 24/24 Elo snapshots 24/24 numbered grid slots 0/24 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 424 earlier finishes across 29 races, 2000–2010. No results from this race enter its expectation.

0/24 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.

0/24 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 → P24vs expectedReading
S. VettelRed Bull #62323 No error range P1 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
L. HamiltonMcLaren #22380 No error range P2 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
J. ButtonMcLaren #32363 No error range P3 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
R. BarrichelloWilliams #112159 No error range P4 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
R. KubicaRenault #42336 No error range P5 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
A. SutilForce India #102176 No error range P6 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
K. KobayashiSauber #201946 No error range P7 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
F. AlonsoFerrari #52333 No error range P8 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
S. BuemiToro Rosso #142058 No error range P9 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
N. RosbergMercedes #72321 No error range P10 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
F. MassaFerrari #82281 No error range P11 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
P. de la RosaSauber #181953 No error range P12 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
J. AlguersuariToro Rosso #122106 No error range P13 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
V. PetrovRenault #152038 No error range P14 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
M. SchumacherMercedes #92280 No error range P15 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
V. LiuzziForce India #132097 No error range P16 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
L. di GrassiVirgin #221923 No error range P17 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
K. ChandhokHRT #191950 No error range P18 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
T. GlockVirgin #231923 No error range P19 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
B. SennaHRT #241888 No error range P20 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
J. TrulliLotus #211930 No error range P21 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
N. HülkenbergWilliams #161991 No error range DNFExhaust Not assessedQualifying unavailable
H. KovalainenLotus #171985 No error range DNFCollision Not assessedQualifying unavailable
M. WebberRed Bull #12400 No error range DNFCollision Not assessedQualifying unavailable
How useful is the model? See the historical check

Average absolute error on 424 classified finishes in 29 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
2.56places
Qualifying only
2.63places
Elo only
3.14places

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

Webber−115.4 Elo

Largest grid-to-finish gain

Kobayashi+11 places

The bigger picture

Championship after this round

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

  1. 1 Hamilton 127pts 0
  2. 2 Button 121pts 0
  3. 3 Vettel 115pts +2
  4. 4 Webber 103pts −1
  5. 5 Alonso 98pts −1

Movement since round 8. 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.

Red Bull

VettelP1+40.7 Elo
WebberDNF−115.4 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 →
24
Result Entries
Avg Elo
Highest Elo (Hamilton)
3
Non-finishes

Race

Qualifying

# Driver Grid +/- Points Season Pts Season # Elo Change Elo
P1 🇩🇪 S.Vettel 1 +25 115 P3 +40.7 2,363
P2 🇬🇧 L.Hamilton 3 +1 +18 127 P1 +26.3 2,406
P3 🇬🇧 J.Button 7 +4 +15 121 P2 +22.3 2,385
P4 🇧🇷 R.Barrichello 9 +5 +12 19 P11 +48.5 2,208
P5 🇵🇱 R.Kubica 6 +1 +10 83 P6 +13.5 2,349
P6 🇩🇪 A.Sutil 13 +7 +8 31 P10 +32.8 2,209
P7 🇯🇵 K.Kobayashi 18 +11 +6 7 P13 +65.5 2,011
P8 🇪🇸 F.Alonso 4 -4 +4 98 P5 -5.1 2,328
P9 🇨🇭 S.Buemi 11 +2 +2 7 P14 +34.4 2,092
P10 🇩🇪 N.Rosberg 12 +2 +1 75 P7 -16.0 2,305
P11 🇧🇷 F.Massa 5 -6 0 67 P8 -16.2 2,265
P12 🇪🇸 P.de la Rosa 16 +4 0 0 P18 +32.8 1,986
P13 🇪🇸 J.Alguersuari 17 +4 0 3 P16 +0.8 2,107
P14 🇷🇺 V.Petrov 10 -4 0 6 P15 +6.2 2,044
P15 🇩🇪 M.Schumacher 15 0 34 P9 -41.2 2,239
P16 🇮🇹 V.Liuzzi 14 -2 0 12 P12 -16.7 2,081
P17 🇧🇷 L.di Grassi 21 +4 0 0 P21 +5.7 1,929
P18 🇮🇳 K.Chandhok 23 +5 0 0 P20 -4.7 1,945
P19 🇩🇪 T.Glock 22 +3 0 0 P24 -6.9 1,916
P20 🇧🇷 B.Senna 24 +4 0 0 P23 -8.3 1,880
P21 🇮🇹 J.Trulli 19 -2 0 0 P22 -20.6 1,909
DNF 🇩🇪 N.Hülkenberg 8 0 1 P17 -36.5 1,954
DNF 🇫🇮 H.Kovalainen 20 0 0 P19 -41.9 1,943
DNF 🇦🇺 M.Webber 2 0 103 P4 -115.4 2,284

Qualifying results are not available for this race.

Elo Changes