Round 15 · 2011

Suzuka Circuit

Suzuka, Japan · October 09, 2011 · Circuit History · Wikipedia

Kings of this circuit
The race, in perspective

Race debrief

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

R152011
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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 483 earlier finishes across 32 races, 2002–2011. 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
J. ButtonMcLaren #42406 No error range P1 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
F. AlonsoFerrari #22473 No error range P2 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
S. VettelRed Bull #12619 No error range P3 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
M. WebberRed Bull #32419 No error range P4 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
L. HamiltonMcLaren #52345 No error range P5 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
M. SchumacherMercedes #102127 No error range P6 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
F. MassaFerrari #62299 No error range P7 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
S. PérezSauber #172052 No error range P8 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
V. PetrovRenault #132082 No error range P9 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
N. RosbergMercedes #72226 No error range P10 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
A. SutilForce India #92161 No error range P11 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
P. di RestaForce India #82183 No error range P12 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
K. KobayashiSauber #112102 No error range P13 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
P. MaldonadoWilliams #152068 No error range P14 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
J. AlguersuariToro Rosso #162058 No error range P15 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
B. SennaRenault #181984 No error range P16 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
R. BarrichelloWilliams #142076 No error range P17 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
H. KovalainenLotus #191944 No error range P18 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
J. TrulliLotus #221890 No error range P19 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
T. GlockVirgin #231884 No error range P20 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
J. d'AmbrosioVirgin #211906 No error range P21 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
D. RicciardoHRT #201930 No error range P22 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
V. LiuzziHRT #241827 No error range P23 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
S. BuemiToro Rosso #122090 No error range DNFWheel Not assessedQualifying unavailable
How useful is the model? See the historical check

Average absolute error on 483 classified finishes in 32 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
2.54places
Qualifying only
2.62places
Elo only
3.05places

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

Pérez+40.3 Elo

Largest Elo loss

Buemi−67.4 Elo

Largest grid-to-finish gain

Rosberg+13 places

The bigger picture

Championship after this round

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

  1. 1 Vettel 324pts 0
  2. 2 Button 210pts 0
  3. 3 Alonso 202pts 0
  4. 4 Webber 194pts 0
  5. 5 Hamilton 178pts 0

Movement since round 14. 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 🇬🇧 J.Button 2 +1 +25 210 P2 +30.4 2,436
P2 🇪🇸 F.Alonso 5 +3 +18 202 P3 +16.8 2,490
P3 🇩🇪 S.Vettel 1 -2 +15 324 P1 -1.4 2,618
P4 🇦🇺 M.Webber 6 +2 +12 194 P4 +9.9 2,429
P5 🇬🇧 L.Hamilton 3 -2 +10 178 P5 +12.6 2,358
P6 🇩🇪 M.Schumacher 8 +2 +8 60 P8 +40.0 2,167
P7 🇧🇷 F.Massa 4 -3 +6 90 P6 +6.3 2,305
P8 🇲🇽 S.Pérez 17 +9 +4 13 P15 +40.3 2,092
P9 🇷🇺 V.Petrov 10 +1 +2 36 P9 +28.8 2,111
P10 🇩🇪 N.Rosberg 23 +13 +1 63 P7 -1.6 2,224
P11 🇩🇪 A.Sutil 11 0 28 P11 +2.6 2,164
P12 🇬🇧 P.di Resta 12 0 20 P13 -7.3 2,176
P13 🇯🇵 K.Kobayashi 7 -6 0 27 P12 +0.1 2,102
P14 🇻🇪 P.Maldonado 14 0 1 P19 -0.3 2,067
P15 🇪🇸 J.Alguersuari 16 +1 0 16 P14 -4.9 2,053
P16 🇧🇷 B.Senna 9 -7 0 2 P18 +1.1 1,985
P17 🇧🇷 R.Barrichello 13 -4 0 4 P17 -20.7 2,055
P18 🇫🇮 H.Kovalainen 18 0 0 P22 -5.2 1,939
P19 🇮🇹 J.Trulli 19 0 0 P21 -3.6 1,887
P20 🇩🇪 T.Glock 21 +1 0 0 P25 -9.0 1,875
P21 🇧🇪 J.d'Ambrosio 20 -1 0 0 P24 -18.5 1,888
P22 🇦🇺 D.Ricciardo 22 0 0 P27 -28.4 1,902
P23 🇮🇹 V.Liuzzi 24 +1 0 0 P23 -20.6 1,807
DNF 🇨🇭 S.Buemi 15 0 13 P16 -67.4 2,023

Qualifying results are not available for this race.

Elo Changes