Round 1 · 2012

Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit

Melbourne, Australia · March 18, 2012 · Circuit History · Wikipedia

Kings of this circuit
The race, in perspective

Race debrief

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

R012012
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24 stored results 24/24 Elo snapshots 22/24 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 489 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 #32489 No error range P1 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
S. VettelRed Bull #12521 No error range P2 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
L. HamiltonMcLaren #52315 No error range P3 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
M. WebberRed Bull #42485 No error range P4 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
F. AlonsoFerrari #22514 No error range P5 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
K. KobayashiSauber #142087 No error range P6 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
K. RäikkönenLotus F1 #82276 No error range P7 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
S. PérezSauber #122110 No error range P8 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
D. RicciardoToro Rosso #221869 No error range P9 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
P. di RestaForce India #92201 No error range P10 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
J. VergneToro Rosso #17.52000 No error range P11 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
N. RosbergMercedes #72288 No error range P12 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
P. MaldonadoWilliams #201943 No error range DNFAccident Not assessedQualifying unavailable
T. GlockMarussia #241820 No error range P14 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
C. PicMarussia #17.52000 No error range P15 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
B. SennaWilliams #162008 No error range DNFCollision Not assessedQualifying unavailable
F. MassaFerrari #62292 No error range DNFCollision Not assessedQualifying unavailable
H. KovalainenCaterham #191973 No error range DNFSuspension Not assessedQualifying unavailable
V. PetrovCaterham #132097 No error range DNFSteering Not assessedQualifying unavailable
M. SchumacherMercedes #102147 No error range DNFGearbox Not assessedQualifying unavailable
R. GrosjeanLotus F1 #211912 No error range DNFCollision Not assessedQualifying unavailable
N. HülkenbergForce India #112124 No error range DNFCollision Not assessedQualifying unavailable
P. de la RosaHRT #152075 Grid unnumbered No error range DNQDid not qualify Not assessedQualifying unavailable
N. KarthikeyanHRT #231862 Grid unnumbered No error range DNQDid not qualify Not assessedQualifying unavailable
How useful is the model? See the historical check

Average absolute error on 489 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
2.51places
Qualifying only
2.61places
Elo only
3.00places

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 grid-to-finish gain

Pérez+14 places

The bigger picture

Championship after this round

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

  1. 1 Button 25pts
  2. 2 Vettel 18pts
  3. 3 Hamilton 15pts
  4. 4 Webber 12pts
  5. 5 Alonso 10pts

Opening round: no earlier standings in this season to compare.

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

AlonsoP5−4.2 Elo
MassaDNF−50.8 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 (Vettel)
10
Non-finishes

Race

Qualifying

# Driver Grid +/- Points Season Pts Season # Elo Change Elo
P1 🇬🇧 J.Button 2 +1 +25 25 P1 +22.2 2,511
P2 🇩🇪 S.Vettel 6 +4 +18 18 P2 +13.2 2,534
P3 🇬🇧 L.Hamilton 1 -2 +15 15 P3 +30.2 2,345
P4 🇦🇺 M.Webber 5 +1 +12 12 P4 +4.5 2,490
P5 🇪🇸 F.Alonso 12 +7 +10 10 P5 -4.2 2,510
P6 🇯🇵 K.Kobayashi 13 +7 +8 8 P6 +46.4 2,133
P7 🇫🇮 K.Räikkönen 17 +10 +6 6 P7 +11.5 2,288
P8 🇲🇽 S.Pérez 22 +14 +4 4 P8 +30.8 2,140
P9 🇦🇺 D.Ricciardo 10 +1 +2 2 P9 +60.0 1,930
P10 🇬🇧 P.di Resta 15 +5 +1 1 P10 +4.5 2,206
P11 🇫🇷 J.Vergne 11 0 0 P11 +29.9 2,030
P12 🇩🇪 N.Rosberg 7 -5 0 0 P12 -20.1 2,268
DNF 🇻🇪 P.Maldonado 8 0 0 P13 +26.2 1,970
P14 🇩🇪 T.Glock 20 +6 0 0 P14 +35.8 1,856
P15 🇫🇷 C.Pic 21 +6 0 0 P15 +5.9 2,006
DNF 🇧🇷 B.Senna 14 0 0 P16 -1.4 2,007
DNF 🇧🇷 F.Massa 16 0 0 P17 -50.8 2,242
DNF 🇫🇮 H.Kovalainen 18 0 0 P18 -8.2 1,965
DNF 🇷🇺 V.Petrov 19 0 0 P19 -33.3 2,064
DNF 🇩🇪 M.Schumacher 4 0 0 P20 -47.2 2,100
DNF 🇫🇷 R.Grosjean 3 0 0 P21 -17.6 1,895
DNF 🇩🇪 N.Hülkenberg 9 0 0 P22 -55.6 2,069
DNQ 🇪🇸 P.de la Rosa 0 0 0 P23 -53.8 2,021
DNQ 🇮🇳 N.Karthikeyan 0 0 0 P24 -29.1 1,833

Qualifying results are not available for this race.

Elo Changes