Round 3 · 2011

Shanghai International Circuit

Shanghai, China · April 17, 2011 · Circuit History · Wikipedia

Kings of this circuit
The race, in perspective

Race debrief

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

R032011
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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 462 earlier finishes across 31 races, 2001–2011. 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
L. HamiltonMcLaren #52369 No error range P1 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
S. VettelRed Bull #12468 No error range P2 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
M. WebberRed Bull #42376 No error range P3 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
J. ButtonMcLaren #32398 No error range P4 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
N. RosbergMercedes #82182 No error range P5 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
F. MassaFerrari #62286 No error range P6 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
F. AlonsoFerrari #22422 No error range P7 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
M. SchumacherMercedes #92166 No error range P8 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
V. PetrovRenault #112139 No error range P9 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
K. KobayashiSauber #132121 No error range P10 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
P. di RestaForce India #162070 No error range P11 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
N. HeidfeldRenault #72201 No error range P12 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
R. BarrichelloWilliams #152093 No error range P13 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
S. BuemiToro Rosso #142112 No error range P14 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
A. SutilForce India #102143 No error range P15 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
H. KovalainenLotus #171996 No error range P16 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
S. PérezSauber #201938 No error range P17 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
P. MaldonadoWilliams #211930 No error range P18 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
J. TrulliLotus #231901 No error range P19 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
J. d'AmbrosioVirgin #181993 No error range P20 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
T. GlockVirgin #191943 No error range P21 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
V. LiuzziHRT #221919 No error range P22 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
N. KarthikeyanHRT #241873 No error range P23 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
J. AlguersuariToro Rosso #122131 No error range DNFWheel Not assessedQualifying unavailable
How useful is the model? See the historical check

Average absolute error on 462 classified finishes in 31 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
2.53places
Qualifying only
2.59places
Elo only
3.10places

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

Rosberg+37.9 Elo

Largest grid-to-finish gain

Webber+15 places

The bigger picture

Championship after this round

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

  1. 1 Vettel 68pts 0
  2. 2 Hamilton 47pts +1
  3. 3 Button 38pts −1
  4. 4 Webber 37pts 0
  5. 5 Alonso 26pts 0

Movement since round 2. 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 →
24
Result Entries
Avg Elo
Highest Elo (Vettel)
1
Non-finishes

Race

Qualifying

# Driver Grid +/- Points Season Pts Season # Elo Change Elo
P1 🇬🇧 L.Hamilton 3 +2 +25 47 P2 +33.9 2,403
P2 🇩🇪 S.Vettel 1 -1 +18 68 P1 +15.8 2,484
P3 🇦🇺 M.Webber 18 +15 +15 37 P4 +20.3 2,397
P4 🇬🇧 J.Button 2 -2 +12 38 P3 +11.2 2,409
P5 🇩🇪 N.Rosberg 4 -1 +10 10 P9 +37.9 2,220
P6 🇧🇷 F.Massa 6 +8 24 P6 +14.4 2,300
P7 🇪🇸 F.Alonso 5 -2 +6 26 P5 -10.6 2,411
P8 🇩🇪 M.Schumacher 14 +6 +4 6 P11 +21.8 2,187
P9 🇷🇺 V.Petrov 10 +1 +2 17 P7 +20.1 2,159
P10 🇯🇵 K.Kobayashi 13 +3 +1 7 P10 +17.1 2,138
P11 🇬🇧 P.di Resta 8 -3 0 2 P14 +19.6 2,090
P12 🇩🇪 N.Heidfeld 16 +4 0 15 P8 -9.7 2,192
P13 🇧🇷 R.Barrichello 15 +2 0 0 P17 +3.0 2,096
P14 🇨🇭 S.Buemi 9 -5 0 4 P12 -6.7 2,105
P15 🇩🇪 A.Sutil 11 -4 0 2 P13 -18.6 2,125
P16 🇫🇮 H.Kovalainen 19 +3 0 0 P19 +0.8 1,997
P17 🇲🇽 S.Pérez 12 -5 0 0 P21 +3.8 1,942
P18 🇻🇪 P.Maldonado 17 -1 0 0 P22 -1.3 1,928
P19 🇮🇹 J.Trulli 20 +1 0 0 P16 -3.3 1,897
P20 🇧🇪 J.d'Ambrosio 21 +1 0 0 P18 -23.9 1,969
P21 🇩🇪 T.Glock 22 +1 0 0 P20 -22.3 1,921
P22 🇮🇹 V.Liuzzi 23 +1 0 0 P23 -25.0 1,894
P23 🇮🇳 N.Karthikeyan 24 +1 0 0 P24 -24.8 1,848
DNF 🇪🇸 J.Alguersuari 7 0 0 P15 -73.4 2,058

Qualifying results are not available for this race.

Elo Changes